Robert Mapplethorpe
in ‘Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection’, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Opens Saturday, 18 May 2024
‘Fragile Beauties’, 2024, installation view, Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Courtesy: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Showcasing over 300 rare prints from 140 photographers, ‘Fragile Beauty’ is a major presentation of 20th- and 21st-century photography on loan from the private collection of Sir Elton John and David Furnish. Selected from their collection of over 7,000 images, the photographs (many of which will be on public display for the first time) are era-defining images which explore the connection between strength and vulnerability inherent in the human condition.
The exhibition brings together an unrivalled selection of the world’s leading photographers to tell the story of modern and contemporary photography, and includes celebrated works by Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, William Eggleston, Diane Arbus, Sally Mann, Zanele Muholi, Ai Weiwei, Carrie Mae Weems and others. Across eight thematic sections, ‘Fragile Beauty’ explores themes such as fashion, reportage, celebrity, the male body, and American photography.