Famous for his early 1970s leather scenes with an explicitly homosexual symbolism, Robert Mapplethorpe's work became more varied over the years. Along with his heavy pornographic and sadomasochistic images he also devoted himself to classical genres, such as portraits, nudes, flowers, and still lifes. In the 80s, his work stood for the contemporary psycho-erotic life-style. Like a sculptor he modeled with light the bodies, plants, and objects he portrayed and stylized them into classic sculptures of vivid sensuality. A fascinating combination of strength and grace, his work walks a tightrope: it is hard and romantic, calculating and full of abandon, introverted and extroverted, intimate and theatrical.