Robert Mapplethorpe's 'Coreografia per una mostra' at Museo Madre, Naples

The Museo Madre in Naples presents 'Coreografia per una mostra', a major exhibition reinterpreting Robert Mapplethorpe's work through the lens of performativity. Curated by Laura Valente and Andrea Viliani, the show runs from early 2019 and has drawn broad public acclaim. It features over 200 photographs, including rarely exhibited works from the controversial Portfolio X (1978), alongside live performances by choreographers Olivier Dubois and visual artists Vadim Stein, Matteo Levaggi, and Samantha Stella. The exhibition is structured as a three-part 'choreography': an overture evoking theater with Patti Smith and Samuel Wagstaff Jr.; a central stage with dancers, athletes, and bodybuilders; and a 'platea' of portraits forming a collective diary of 1970s-80s New York society. The final section includes an (Un)Dressing Room and a X(Dark) Room for erotic works. Loans come from the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli and Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte. Mapplethorpe, who died in 1989, first visited Naples in 1984 with gallerist Lucio Amelio. The curators emphasize the show's aim to reveal the performative matrix of Mapplethorpe's studio practice, where he meticulously staged scenes to achieve 'perfection in form'.