Juergen Teller Exposes Another Side of Robert Mapplethorpe

In a year when the late 70’s made a comeback, and as 2017 looks set to be all about the 80’s, the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who died in 1989, has felt especially alive. In 2016, his life and work has had two concurrent exhibitions in Los Angeles at the Getty and LACMA; a hit documentary at Sundance and later on HBO; and even a Raf Simons collection, thanks to a collaboration between the designer and Mapplethorpe’s estate. But now, just in time for what would have been his 70th birthday, there is “Teller on Mapplethorpe,” an exhibition curated by another provocateur photographer, Juergen Teller, that sheds light on still undiscovered aspects of Mapplethorpe’s well-trod oeuvre. Up through January 7 at Alison Jacques Gallery in London, it’s not the usual flowers and S&M shots, but Teller’s favorite, rarely exhibited picks. There’s still plenty of nudity, of course.