Els Barents

The simple black-and-white polaroids which Robert Mapplethorpe made in the early 1970's and the luscious platinum prints of the late 1980's mark the development of a consistent and strong-willed body of work.
Along the years, his work has become more varied. His work walks a tightrope: it is hard and romantic, calculating and full of abandon, introverted and extroverted, intimate and theatrical; it dares to balance on the border of art and kitsch. Only artists are willing to take that risk.

Tentoonstelling, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Berlinische Galerie Berlijn, 1981