Robert Mapplethorpe was a controversial chronicler of American subculture, sparking debates about eroticism and racial exploitation in the arts that are still relevant today. As Above, So Below, the late New York artist’s forthcoming exhibition at LA’s OHWOW gallery that is previewed here, is no exception. “He treated each subject equally, unbiased and without judgment,” says Al Moran, the co-founder of the institution that was previously based in Miami. “Mapplethorpe directs you by every construct at his disposal to look, and look again.” His classical portraiture, often depicting the male form, and desire for pictorial balance is the focus of the exhibition. The show’s title refers to a Hermetic principle, suggesting that whatever happens on one level of reality also occurs on another––a concept reflected by a shared aesthetic that exists between Mapplethorpe’s photographs that some consider obscene and others, beautiful.