Blum & Poe is pleased to present a one-person exhibition of Polaroids by Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989).
Made at the beginning of his career, these early Polaroids naturally present a clarity and dignity which are crucial to Mapplethorpe’s oeuvre. The rigidity and symmetry of these early compositions, whether it is through portraiture, still life or sexually charged works, show an instinctual and precise eye which would later serve to create an artist of enormous influence. Although rougher and more immediate in form than his later works, these early photographs demonstrate, as Thomas Sokolowski aptly states, “Right from the start, it was all there."