Provocateur. Innovator. Icon. Museums Sheffield plays host to the city's very first exhibition of work from one of the most significant photographers of the 20th century, Robert Mapplethorpe. The exhibition comes to the Graves Gallery as part of ARTIST ROOMS On Tour with The Art Fund, a nationwide initiative designed to show the new national art collection established through the generosity of Sheffield-born collector, Anthony d'Offay at venues across the UK.
IMAGE
Robert Mapplethorpe,
Patti Smith, 1975
© Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation
Born in 1946, American artist Robert Mapplethorpe produced some of the most striking images of the last 50 years. Garnering fame and notoriety in equal measure for the often challenging nature of his photographs, Mapplethorpe's celebrated body of work spans acclaimed depictions of the male form, delicate flower studies, enduring celebrity images and vivid documentation of his native New York's underground scene. ARTIST ROOMS features over 35 of Mapplethorpe's works from the 1970s and 80s, including career-spanning self portraits and iconic photographs of Patti Smith, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote and Marianne Faithfull.
Nick Dodd, Chief Executive of Museums Sheffield, said:
"We are deeply pleased that Museums Sheffield has been chosen to take part in ARTIST ROOMS and host part of this prestigious collection, made available through the generosity of one of the city's own sons, Anthony d'Offay. We are delighted to be afforded the incredible opportunity to bring the work of one of the 20th century’s most important photographers, Robert Mapplethorpe, to Sheffield for the first time."
Throughout 2009, 18 museums and galleries across the UK are showing over 30 ARTIST ROOMS from the collection created by the dealer and collector, Anthony d'Offay, and acquired by the nation in February 2008. This is the first time a national collection has been shared and shown simultaneously across the UK, and has only been made possible through the exceptional generosity of independent charity The Art Fund and, in Scotland, of the Scottish Government.
Andrew Macdonald, Acting Director of The Art Fund, said:
"Robert Mapplethorpe was one of the most famous photographers of the 20th century. By taking this extraordinary collection out of London and Edinburgh, ARTIST ROOMS On Tour with The Art Fund is enabling people in and around Sheffield to see Mapplethorpe's work on their doorstep and entirely free of charge. Anthony d'Offay was born in Sheffield, so it is particularly fitting that his vision of bringing his collection to as many young people as possible should be realised there."
Anthony d'Offay's guiding principle for the creation of ARTIST ROOMS was the concept of individual rooms devoted to particular artists. ARTIST ROOMS on Tour with The Art Fund supported by the Scottish Government has been devised to take those displays beyond the collection's owners, Tate and National Galleries of Scotland, and to reach and inspire new audiences across the country, particularly of young people.
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