Robert Mapplethorpe. The forms of the classic, Exhibition The Rooms of Photography, Venice

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Robert Mapplethorpe. The forms of the classic

From 10 April to 6 January 2026

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The Rooms of Photography

Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore (Le stanze della fotografia), Venice

Open now from 11:00 to 19:00

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The Rooms of Photography in Venice announce the upcoming major exhibition dedicated to an absolute protagonist, and still in many respects controversial, of international photography: Robert Mapplethorpe.Curated by the artistic director of The Rooms of Photography, Denis Curti, the exhibition Robert Mapplethorpe. The Forms of the Classic is organized and promoted by Marsilio Arte and Fondazione Giorgio Cini in collaboration with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation in New York.
The exhibition will be held in Venice, inside the photographic center The Rooms of Photography, on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, from April 10 to November 23, 2025. Robert Mapplethorpe. The Forms of the Classic has been conceived as the first act of a broader trilogy, part of a study and research path aimed at deepening and investigating widely the figure of Mapplethorpe, which includes two other exhibition events in 2026. Robert Mapplethorpe. The Forms of Desire will take place in Milan, at Palazzo Reale, and will present a complete retrospective of the photographer's entire work with his most iconic, powerful, and bold photographs, focusing on the most intense aspects of his production. Robert Mapplethorpe. The Forms of Beauty will be exhibited in Rome, at the Museum of the Ara Pacis, and will focus on studies of beauty understood as classicism, with precise images and comparisons and a selection dedicated to some significant images taken in Italy now exhibited for the first time.The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation is excited to collaborate with Marsilio Arte, Denis Curti, and his colleagues on the upcoming exhibitions dedicated to Mapplethorpe, which will be splendidly presented within prestigious venues and institutions. The careful curation by Denis Curti will offer visitors a unique experience, differentiating the approach for each of the three venues and emphasizing the various facets of Mapplethorpe's work.Despite some common points, each exhibition will adopt a specific approach to the artist's works. Venice has not hosted a complete anthology of Mapplethorpe since 1992, when the iconic international retrospective curated by Germano Celant was presented at Palazzo Fortuny. We eagerly await Mapplethorpe's return to Venice after 33 years, as well as the exhibitions planned for Rome and Milan," says Michael Ward Stout, president of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation.With over 200 images, some of which are presented in Italy for the first time, the retrospective Robert Mapplethorpe. The Forms of the Classic at the Rooms of Photography in Venice pays tribute to the great American artist and continues the path traced by the curator Germano Celant in his exhibition Between Ancient and Modern. An Anthology (Turin,2005), reintegrating Mapplethorpe's work into the context of American art and culture

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Robert Mapplethorpe. The forms of the classic

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