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Robert Mapplethorpe

Cock, 1981

silver gelatin print, edition of 10
40.6 x 50.8 cm, 16 x 20 in.

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Mapplethorpe’s image compounds the garments as the clothing of a queer renegade. Cock is about clothing for sex. A tight mesh top that reveals as much as it conceals; white leather jeans with purposefully aggressive fastening, its press studs ready to be ripped open, the smallness of the zip a visual joke. The model wears a cock ring, pushing his penis even more up and out. It can be a serious commitment, dressing to please desire.


Permanent Collections

  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art / J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, Texas

Exhibitions

  • Robert Mapplethorpe. Curated by Arthur Jafa. Gladstone Gallery, New York, NY, March 12 - April 24, 2021
  • Robert Mapplethorpe. Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium, June 2 – July 20, 2017
  • Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, and J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, March 20 - July 31, 2016. Traveled to: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada (2016 - 2017); Kunsthal Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2017); Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (2017 - 2018)
  • XYZ: Robert Mapplethorpe. Curated by Peter Marino. Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France, January 28 - March 5, 2016
  • Robert Mapplethorpe. Grand Palais, Paris, France, March 26 - July 13, 2014. Traveled to: Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland (2015)
  • Robert Mapplethorpe. NRW-Forum Kultur Wirtschaft, Dusseldorf, Germany, February 6 - August 15, 2010. Traveled to: C/O Berlin, Berlin, Germany (2011); Fotografiska, Stockholm, Sweden (2011); Forma Foundation for Photography, Milan, Italy (2011); Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary (2012)
  • Sterling Ruby / Robert Mapplethorpe. Curated by Sterling Ruby. Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium, December 10, 2009 - January 14, 2010
  • Pictures, Pictures. Curated by Catherine Opie. Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA, January 31 - March 13, 2004

Publications

  • Robert Mapplethorpe. Edited by Mark Holborn and Dimitri Levas with a new poem by Patti Smith and a new introduction by Andrew Sullivan. New York: Phaidon, 2020. Monograph
  • Robert Mapplethorpe. Edited by Jerome Neutres. Paris, France: Réunion des musées nationaux - Grand Palais, 2014. Exhibition Catalogue
  • MX7: MapplethorpeX7. Edited by Richard Flood. New York: teNeues, 2011. Exhibition Catalogue
  • Robert Mapplethorpe. Edited by Alessandra Mauro and Alessia Tagliaventi. Milan, Italy: Contrasto, 2011. Exhibition Catalogue
  • Sterling Ruby | Robert Mapplethorpe. Edited by Sterling Ruby and Ed Schad. Brussels, Belgium: Xavier Hufkens Gallery, 2010. Exhibition Catalogue