Can a great artist be a great curator? That's the question they seem to be asking over at the Alison Jacques Gallery, where David Hockney is about ready to unveil his exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe photographs.
Hockney and Mapplethorpe go way back to the early 70s, when they bumped into each other at the infamous Chelsea Hotel (Mapplethorpe was living there with Patti Smith at the time, so we can assume he was a pretty cool bloke). Mapplethorpe went on to carve out a reputation for himself in the mid-Seventies taking photos of his friends who included everyone from NY socialites to porn stars.
The exhibition Hockney has put together consists of 60 images taken between 1975 and 1988, and includes portraits of Richard Gere, Andy Warhol, Iggy Pop, Yoko Ono and Hockney himself as well as the odd still life and, of course, a couple of nudes.
The exhibition opens on Saturday and runs until 12 March.
More information from the Alsion Jacques gallery site here.
Mapplethorpe's Wikipedia entry, and some blurb from the Guggenheim.
Hockney's Wikipedia entry and some blurb from the Getty museum.
