About the Artist
Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel (b. 1951 - ) is an American painter and filmmaker. In the 1980s, Schnabel received international media attention for his "plate paintings"—large-scale paintings set on broken ceramic plates.
Schnabel directed Before Night Falls, which became Javier Bardem's breakthrough Academy Award-nominated role, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which was nominated for four Academy Awards. He has won the award for best director at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, a Golden Globe, as well as BAFTA, a Cesar Award, two nominations for the Golden Lion and an Academy Award nomination.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, he moved with his family to Brownsville, Texas in 1965. He received his BFA at the University of Houston. After graduating, he sent an application to the Independent Study Program at the Whitney Museum of American Art in NY. His application included slides of his work sandwiched between two pieces of bread. He was admitted into the program and studied there from 1973-1975.
It was with his first solo show, at the Mary Boone Gallery in 1979, that Schnabel had his breakthrough; all his works were sold in advance. He participated at the Venice Biennale in 1980 with Anselm Kiefer and George Baselitz. By the time he exhibited his work in a show jointly organized by Boone and Leo Castelli in 1981, he had become firmly established and was the youngest artist in the legendary exhibition 'A New Spirit in Painting' in the Royal Academy of Arts. His now famous "plate paintings" — large-scale paintings set on broken ceramic plates — received a boisterous and critical reception from the art world. His wild and expressive works were classed as neo-expressionism by art critics. In the years to follow Schnabel's success on the art market would above all be criticised.
Schnabel's style is characterised by very large scale paintings. He uses diverse materials such as plaster, wax, photographs, antlers, velvet and ceramics. His paintings make use of canvas, wood, muslin and even surfboards. His paintings often combine abstract and figurative elements. Due to the size, weight and depth of his works, they are often given sculptural properties.
