Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now

Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now
24 July 2019 - 5 January 2020

Alison Jacques Gallery is proud to announce the opening of Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. This is the second part of a yearlong exhibition exploring the legacy of Robert Mapplethorpe (1946–1989).

In 1993 the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation gifted just under two-hundred photographs and unique objects to the museum, creating one of the most comprehensive public holdings of the American artist's work. The first part of Implicit Tensions, which was on view from January to July, highlighted the depth of the museum’s Mapplethorpe collection. This next iteration of the show underlines the artist’s vital legacy.

Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now examines the longstanding impact of Mapplethorpe’s contributions through an exploration of six artists in the Guggenheim collection who offer innovative and varied takes on identity through photographic portraiture.

Works by Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Lyle Ashton Harris, Glenn Ligon, Zanele Muholi, Catherine Opie, and Paul Mpagi Sepuya will be on display, along with a selection of Mapplethorpe’s self-portraits. The artist's photographs of a variety of figures, including Patti Smith, Grace Jones, Lawrence Weiner and Lisa Lyon, will also be shown.

Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now is organised by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.