Robert Mapplethorpe was a photographer of many hats. Up until the final exhibition he planned before his death in 1989, Mapplethorpe’s various photographic themes – from hardcore S&M to sensual floral still lifes and celebrity portraits – were always shown separately. At the time, Mapplethorpe explained that if the sex pictures were in the room, that’s all anyone would take away from the show.
Opening today in London at the Alison Jacques Gallery is photographer Juergen Teller’s take on the American artist’s work, in recognition of what would have been Mapplethorpe's 70th birthday. Though sexually explicit imagery abounds, the leather-bound characters synonymous with Mapplethorpe are barely present. Instead, we are offered Mapplethorpe as viewed through Teller’s eyes, the result of which is a delicate and more subtle play on the late photographer’s multiplicity.
’Pods’, 1985
Known for his candid images for fashion houses including Marc Jacobs and Céline, Teller first embraced Mapplethorpe’s work in his teenage bedroom, while listening to Patti Smith records. Having never before been interested in photography, Mapplethorpe’s 'direct and intimate' record cover image, 'opened up a whole new universe to me', Teller explains at the gallery just days before opening. When Teller later came to photography, he says, Mapplethorpe’s biographical honesty was never far away.
While Mapplethorpe's oeuvre is known for its brutal and often hardcore qualities, Teller’s juxtaposition is instead suggestive, playful and tender. A portrait of Arthur Diovanni – who is dressed in little other than very tight shorts – leans away from an academic study of documentary photographer Gisèle Freund; to her right stands a glossy and reverent still life of a loaf of bread.
'Cookie Mueller' 1978
As well as a host of sexually explicit works, Teller chose many lesser known images and was especially drawn to Mapplethorpe’s series of plates (as evinced in Shoes on Plates, a 1984 shot depicting a man standing on a pile of crockery). In Teller's native Germany, his name translates to ‘plate’ in English – and it is something of a signature for the photographer. 'Why is this guy standing on a stack of plates?' Teller wonders aloud. 'I mean, most people probably wouldn’t have chosen that in their collection.' Through its canny curation and exposition, 'Teller on Mapplethorpe' offers a portrait of two artists, intertwined.
Madeline Stowe, 1982
Apartment Window, 1977
Frogs, 1984
Michael Reed, 1987
Shoes on Plates, 1984
INFORMATION
’Teller on Mapplethorpe’ is on view until 7 January 2017. For more information, visit the Alison Jacques Gallery website
ADDRESS
Alison Jacques Gallery
Orwell House
16–18 Berners Street
London W1T 3LN
TELEPHONE
44.207 631 4720
-
We bring you all the best bits from this year’s Goodwood Festival of SpeedAs car makers switch their allegiance to the sunny West Sussex countryside as a place to showcase their wares, a new generation of sports cars were sent running up that famous hill
-
Stay at Patina Osaka for a dose of ‘transformative luxury’ in western JapanFrom nature-inspired interiors to sound-tracked cocktails and an unusually green setting, Patina Osaka is a contemporary urban escape that sets itself apart
-
12 photographers vie for Prix Pictet 2025, lenses firmly focused on sustainabilityPrix Pictet is the world’s leading award for photography and sustainability. Here’s how the 2025 shortlist responded to this cycle’s theme, ‘Storm’
-
Shop the gloriously mad inner workings of Gary Card’s brain in London’s SohoSet designer and artist Gary Card has taken over London's Plaster Store – expect chaos and some really good accessories
-
Meet the New York-based artists destabilising the boundaries of societyA new show in London presents seven young New York-based artists who are pushing against the borders between refined aesthetics and primal materiality
-
Leila Bartell’s cloudscapes are breezily distorted, a response to an evermore digital world‘Memory Fields’ is the London-based artist’s solo exhibition at Tristan Hoare Gallery (until 25 July 2025)
-
A bespoke 40m mixed-media dragon is the centrepiece of Glastonbury’s new chill-out areaNew for 2025 is Dragon's Tail – a space to offer some calm within Glastonbury’s late-night area with artwork by Edgar Phillips at its heart
-
Emerging artist Kasia Wozniak’s traditional photography techniques make for ethereal imagesWozniak’s photographs, taken with a 19th-century Gandolfi camera, are currently on show at Incubator, London
-
Vincent Van Gogh and Anselm Kiefer are in rich and intimate dialogue at the Royal Academy of ArtsGerman artist Anselm Kiefer has paid tribute to Van Gogh throughout his career. When their work is viewed together, a rich relationship is revealed
-
Alice Adams, Louise Bourgeois, and Eva Hesse delve into art’s ‘uckiness’ at The CourtauldNew exhibition ‘Abstract Erotic’ (until 14 September 2025) sees artists experiment with the grotesque
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintingsThe artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London
