Julian Schnabel

Category: Books,Biographies & Memoirs,Arts & Literature

Julian Schnabel Details

Amazon.com Review Julian Schnabel burst on the neo-expressionist art scene of the early 1980s with huge, arresting paintings on collaged shards of smashed plates. A swaggering and contentious figure whose art no longer occupies center stage, he is probably best known today as a successful filmmaker. All the more reason, perhaps, for him to shore up his reputation by co-designing a mammoth book of his life and art. Julian Schnabel dispenses with commentary, except for the artist's own brief, broad-brushed introduction. Even the titles of his works are relegated to the illustrated index, which--despite Schnabel's proclivity for unconventional surfaces--omits any mention of media. Nearly 400 full-color reproductions trace Schnabel's output from 1976 to the present, interspersed with photographs of the artist, his family, and off-camera moments from the making of Before Night Falls, his film about the gay Cuban writer Reynaldo Arenas. Of course, all the famous Schnabel preoccupations are on full view, from the persistent references to Catholic ritual to the phallic imagery and the invocations of his wife Olantz. The newest mega-series, "Big Girl Paintings"--each face featuring a horizontal swipe of paint in lieu of eyes—-seems a hollow echo of the lively portraits of friends and family from the 1980s and 1990s. But die-hard Schnabel devotees will adore this lavish volume, which accompanies an international traveling exhibition that opens in January 2004 at the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, Germany. (U.S. venues have not been announced.) —Cathy Curtis Read more About the Author Julian Schnabel's paintings, sculptures, and works on paper have been the subject of major retrospective exhibitions here and abroad, and his art can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC; Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles; Tate Gallery in London; and other key museums in Paris, Tokyo, and elsewhere. Schnabel is the writer/director of the feature films Basquiat (1996) and Before Night Falls (2001). Read more

Reviews

Schnabel inspires and infuriates, so it is worth noting that this book about Julian Schnabel is by Julian Schnabel. (Of course at this point in his career, it is also by his assistants and the editors.) Still, one gets a strong sense of the artist here -- and not merely from the images. This is a brilliantly executed book!The book begins with a statement from Schnabel and then, without the normal "introduction" or "essay by distinguished gallerist," plunges into the pictures. The sequencing makes quite a bit of sense. Somehow. Along the way one encounters outrageously shabby b&w photographs of Schnabel, bits of Schnabel handwriting which illuminate and confuse matters, and many images of Schnabel works on site -- sometimes lit with less-than-perfect natural light. These are particularly wonderful.The art is presented without titles, without references to the institution that owns it, and without the dimensions. This is just a big, honking book of art presented without the traditional contexts one usually finds in big, honking books of art.At the very end of this book one gets an Exhibition History, a Bibliography, and an Artwork Index which provides details of each piece while reproducing it in 1/100th size.As you might expect, this is a quality piece of work from Abrams: 370 pp, color illustrations throughout on heavy stock, with dustjacket, cloth over boards with a sewn binding. 7.5 pounds.

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