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“I went to school with Robert Mapplethorpe. So we were old friends. This was in the ‘60s, this was before he thought about being a photographer, had made any photos. He was very shy, and when I met him he was making little delicate, fussy collages. Then suddenly his life changed and he started doing this very strong, bold work.” — Robert Wilson

Recently in Berlin, Galerie Thomas Schulte opened two parallel exhibitions featuring the work of Robert Mapplethorpe, including a rare showing of the X, Y, and Z Portfolios, as well as an exhibition curated by Robert Wilson (who’s been keeping busy while in isolation). The exhibitions – and even some attendant planned publicity for them – were cut short by the COVID-19 lockdown. Fortunately, the gallery was able to repurpose some promotional footage to share about the exhibitions. In this video, Wilson talks about Mapplethorpe’s evolution as an artist, and Schulte talks about the importance of the photography portfolios.

From Galerie Thomas Schulte:

Robert Mapplethorpe’s preeminent X, Y, and Z Portfolios will be shown together for the first time in Berlin at Galerie Thomas Schulte. This is the second time the complete suite has been shown together in Germany since 1997. Simultaneously, the gallery presents a large group of Mapplethorpe prints selected by another artist of the gallery, avant-garde theater director and designer Robert Wilson. […]

During the days before the opening, artist, theater director and designer Robert Wilson and Thomas Schulte both spoke to journalists from the RBB about Robert Mapplethorpe’s work, which is shown at Galerie Thomas Schulte in two parallel exhibitions, “Robert Mapplethorpe: XYZ Portfolios” and “Robert Mapplethorpe: Selected by Robert Wilson.”