Julian Schnabel | |
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.jpg) Schnabel in 2010 | |
| Born | (1951-10-26)October 26, 1951 (age 74) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | University of Houston |
| Known for |
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| Style | "Plate paintings" |
| Movement | Neo-expressionism |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 7, includingVito |
| Website | julianschnabel |
Julian Schnabel (born October 26, 1951) is an Americanpainter andfilmmaker. In the 1980s, he received international attention for his "plate paintings"—with broken ceramic plates set onto large-scale paintings. Since the 1990s, he has been a proponent of independent arthouse cinema. Schnabel directedBefore Night Falls, which becameJavier Bardem's breakthroughAcademy Award-nominated role, andThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which was nominated for four Academy Awards. For the latter, he won theCannes Film Festival Award for Best Director[1] and theGolden Globe Award for Best Director, as well as receiving nominations for theAcademy Award for Best Director and theCésar Award for Best Director.
Schnabel was born inBrooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family,[2] the son of Esta (née Greenberg) and Jack Schnabel.[3] He moved with his family toBrownsville, Texas, in 1965.[4] He received hisB.F.A. at theUniversity of Houston. After graduating, he sent an application to the Independent Study Program (ISP) at theWhitney Museum of American Art in New York. His application included slides of his work sandwiched between two pieces of bread. He was admitted into the program and studied there from 1973 to 1975.[4]
In 1975, Schnabel visited Galveston and was introduced to the artistJoseph Glasco who had his home and studio in Galveston at that time. Schnabel and Glasco became close friends and shared many similar interests in the arts. Later in their relationship, Schnabel influenced Glasco to set up his studio in New York, and in the late 1980s introduced Glasco to Leslie Waddington of Waddington Galleries, London, where he had an exhibition.[5]
Schnabel returned to Houston in 1975 and rented a studio in theHeights neighborhood. Jim Harithas, director of theContemporary Arts Museum Houston, agreed to give him a show after Schnabel reportedly badgered him repeatedly.[6] The eponymously titled exhibit ran from February 20 to March 7, 1976, in the parallelogram building's lower gallery.[7]
On seeing the show,ARTnews critic Charlotte Moser wrote, "Though still formative, Schnabel's paintings possess a palpable presence," but found the work "clearly influenced by post-minimalist artists whose intellectual ideas he might share but whose technical expertise and clarity of vision he has yet to acquire."[8]
It was with his first solo show, at theMary Boone Gallery in 1979 that Schnabel had his breakthrough;[9] all his works were sold in advance. He participated at theVenice Biennale in 1980 withAnselm Kiefer andGeorg Baselitz. By the time he exhibited his work in a show jointly organized by Boone andLeo Castelli in 1981, he had become firmly established and was the youngest artist in the legendary exhibition 'A New Spirit in Painting' in theRoyal 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. In 1984, he surprised the art community by moving from working with Mary Boone to exhibit at thePace Gallery.[10]
His works were classed asneo-expressionism by art critics. In the years to follow Schnabel's success on the art market would above all be criticised.[11]
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.
In 2002, Schnabel painted the cover artwork for theRed Hot Chili Peppers' eighth studio album,By the Way. The woman featured on the cover ofBy the Way is Julian's daughter, Stella Schnabel, who was band memberJohn Frusciante's then-girlfriend.[59] Regarding the artwork, Frusciante noted: "My girlfriend's father offered to do the album art, so we sent him rough mixes of eight songs, and he just got the vibe of the album from that. He said that he wouldn't be offended if we didn't like it, but we loved what he did. He's also given us great covers for all the singles. He's a true artist."[12]
Schnabel had an exhibition at theArt Gallery of Ontario inToronto, which ran from September 1, 2010, to January 2, 2011, and occupied the entirety of the gallery's fifth floor. It examined "the rich interplay between Schnabel's paintings and films".[13] In 2011Museo Correr exhibitedJulian Schnabel: Permanently Becoming and the Architecture of Seeing, a selected survey show of Schnabel's career curated byNorman Rosenthal.[14]
Art criticRobert Hughes was one of the most outspoken critics of his work; he once stated that "Schnabel's work is to painting whatStallone's is to acting: a lurching display of oily pectorals."[15]
In the 2017 Swedish filmThe Square, set in a museum of modern art,Dominic West plays a character modeled on Schnabel.[16][17][18]
The highest price paid for one of his paintings at the art market was forEthnic Type #14 (1984), sold by $1,452,500 atChristie's, on 15 November 2017.[19]
Schnabel began his film career in the 1990s with the filmBasquiat, abiopic on the painterJean-Michel Basquiat (1996), followed byBefore Night Falls (2000), an adaptation ofReinaldo Arenas's autobiographical novel, which he also produced, and which won theGrand Jury Prize at theVenice Film Festival. He directedThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), an adaptation (with a screenplay by Ronald Harwood) of a French memoir byJean-Dominique Bauby.The Diving Bell and the Butterfly earned him theaward for best director at the2007 Cannes Film Festival,[1] theGolden Globe for best director, theIndependent Spirit Award for best director, and a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Director.
Despite the fact that producingThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly might seem like a commission to do someone else's work, Schnabel took on the film. According to Schnabel,
I used to go up to read toFred Hughes,Andy Warhol's business partner, who had multiple sclerosis. And as Fred got worse, he ended up locked inside his body. I had been thinking that I might make a movie about Fred when his nurse, Darren McCormick, gave me Bauby's memoir,The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Then, in 2003, when my father was dying, the script arrived from Kennedy. So it didn't feel quite like taking on a commissioned job.
In 2007, Schnabel designedLou Reed's "Berlin" Tour and releasedLou Reed's Berlin.[20] In 2010, Schnabel then directed the filmMiral. In May 2017 he announced plans for a film about the painterVincent van Gogh's time inArles andAuvers-sur-Oise, France. The filmAt Eternity's Gate was released in 2018 and the script was written by Schnabel, French screenwriterJean-Claude Carrière, and Louise Kugelberg. The film starsWillem Dafoe as Van Gogh.[21] Other actors includeMathieu Amalric,Mads Mikkelsen,Niels Arestrup,Oscar Isaac asPaul Gauguin andEmmanuelle Seigner as "the woman from Arles" orL'Arlésienne.[22]
In September 2023, Schnabel announced plans to direct an adaptation ofIn the Hand of Dante, based on the book byNick Tosches.[23] The movie will shoot October 2023 and is set to starOscar Isaac.[24]
Schnabel published his autobiography,CVJ: Nicknames of Maitre D's & Other Excerpts From Life (Random House, New York), in 1987 and released the albumEvery Silver Lining Has a Cloud onIsland Records (Catalog #314-524 111-2) in 1995.
Recorded inBrooklyn, New York, in 1993, the album features guest musicians includingBill Laswell,Bernie Worrell,Buckethead, andNicky Skopelitis.[citation needed]
In 1980, he married Belgian clothing designer Jacqueline Beaurang. They have three children:[25][26] two daughters –Lola, a painter and filmmaker; andStella, a poet and actress – and a son,Vito, an art dealer.[27]
He has twin sons, Cy and Olmo, with his second wife, Spanish actress Olatz López Garmendia.[28][29][30]
His collaboration withPalestinian journalistRula Jebreal, who wrote the screenplay and original source novel for Schnabel's filmMiral, extended beyond the movie. Schnabel was in a relationship with her from 2007 to 2011.[31][32][33]
Schnabel dated Danish modelMay Andersen, from whom he parted ways in 2014. They have a son, who was born in June 2013.[34][35][36]
Schnabel lives in New York City with his current wife Louise Kugelberg, a Swedish interior designer. She is also the co-editor and co-writer ofAt Eternity's Gate. Schnabel maintains studios in New York City and inMontauk at the east end ofLong Island. Schnabel lives in a former West Village horse stable which he bought and converted for residential use, adding five condominiums in the style of a Northern Italian palazzo. It is named thePalazzo Chupi, and it is easy to spot because it is painted pink.[37]
In 2009, Schnabel signed a petition in support of film directorRoman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.[38]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Basquiat | Yes | Yes | Also composer and music writer ("Suicide Hotline Mode" and "She Is Dancing") |
| 2000 | Before Night Falls | Yes | Yes | Also executive producer |
| 2007 | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | Yes | No | Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director Nominated —Academy Award for Best Director |
| Lou Reed's Berlin | Yes | No | Documentary | |
| 2010 | Miral | Yes | No | |
| 2018 | At Eternity's Gate | Yes | Yes | Also editor |
| 2025 | In the Hand of Dante | Yes | Yes |
| Year | Title | Academy Awards | BAFTA Awards | Golden Globe Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | ||
| 2000 | Before Night Falls | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 2007 | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2018 | At Eternity's Gate | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | |
Devoted mother to Andrea, Stephen, Julian.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Julian Schnabel, who within four years became New York's most talked-about young artist, packed up his broken-plate paintings this week and moved them from the downtown Mary Boone Gallery to the uptown Pace Gallery. The art world was abuzz.
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