Julian Schnabel
Encyclopedia
Julian Schnabel is an American artist 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 a Golden Globe, as well as BAFTA, a César Award
, a Golden Palm, two nominations for the Golden Lion
and an Academy Award nomination.
, New York City
to Esta Greenberg and Jack Schnabel. Schnabel moved with his family to Brownsville, Texas
when still young. It was in Brownsville that he spent most of his formative years and where he took up surfing and resolved to be an artist. He is from a Jewish background and his mother was president in 1948 of the Brooklyn chapter of Hadassah
, a religious Women's Zionist Organization in America.
He received his B.F.A.
at the University of Houston
. After graduating, he sent an application to the independent study program at the Whitney 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. Schnabel worked as a short-order cook and frequented Max's Kansas City
, a restaurant-nightclub, while he worked on his art. In 1975, Schnabel had his first solo show at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston. Over the next few years he traveled frequently to Europe, where he was enormously impressed by the work of Antoni Gaudi
, Cy Twombly
and Joseph Beuys
.
Gallery in 1979, however, that Schnabel would truly come to be regarded as a major new force in the art world. He participated at the Venice Biennale
in 1980, and by the mid-1980s had become a major figure in the Neo-expressionism
movement. By the time he exhibited his work in a show jointly organized by Boone and Leo Castelli
in 1981, he had become firmly established. His now famous "plate paintings"—large-scale paintings set on broken ceramic plates—received a boisterous and critical reception from the art world. A reputation for making brash pronouncements about his importance to the art world - I'm the closest thing to Picasso that you'll see in this *#@ life - engendered contempt from both colleagues and the viewing public. Schnabel is currently represented by The Pace Gallery
in New York.
Schnabel's signature works contain an underlying edge of brutality, while remaining suffused with compositional energy. Schnabel claims that he's aiming at an emotional state, a state that people can literally walk into and be engulfed.
Schnabel insists he is a painter first and foremost, though he is better known for his films.
; Museum of Modern Art
in New York; The Whitney Museum of American Art
; The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles
; Los Angeles County Museum of Art
; Reina Sofia
in Madrid; Tate Modern
in London and the Centre Georges Pompidou
in Paris.
Schnabel recently had an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario
in Toronto
, 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]".
(1996), and Before Night Falls
(2000), an adaptation of Reinaldo Arenas
' autobiographical novel, which he also produced. He directed The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
(2007), an adaptation (with a screenplay by Ronald Harwood) of a French memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby
. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
earned him the award for best director
at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
, the Golden Globe for best director, the Independent Spirit Award for best director, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. Schnabel, who designed Lou Reed
's critically acclaimed 'Berlin' Tour in 2007, also released 'Berlin the Movie'. Despite the fact that producing The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
might seem like a commission to do someone else's work, Schnabel took on the film. According to Schnabel,
His latest film Miral
was shot in Jerusalem in 2009.
on Island Records
(Catalog #314-524 111-2) in 1995. Recorded in Brooklyn, New York in 1993, the album features guest musicians including Bill Laswell
, Bernie Worrell
, Buckethead
, and Nicky Skopelitis
.
on the eastern end of Long Island
with a house in San Sebastián
in Spain. He has three children by his first wife, clothing designer Jacqueline Beaurang: two daughters, Lola, a painter and film-maker, Stella, a poet and actress, and a son, Vito
, an art dealer.
He also has twin sons, Cy and Olmo, by his second wife, Spanish Basque actress Olatz López Garmendia. Garmendia appeared in Before Night Falls, and is also to be seen in The Diving Bell, as Bauby's physical therapist. Schnabel is fluent in Spanish. He also learned French to direct The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
His collaboration with Rula Jebreal, who penned the screenplay and original source novel for Schnabel's film Miral
, extended beyond the movie. Schnabel is currently in a relationship with her.
Schnabel resides at 360 West 11th Street, in a former West Village horse stable that he purchased and converted for residential use, adding five luxury condominiums in the style of a Northern Italian palazzo. It is named the Palazzo Chupi
and it's easy to spot because it is painted pink.
Schnabel directed Before Night Falls
Before Night Falls (film)
Before Night Falls is a 2000 film directed by Julian Schnabel. The screenplay is based on the autobiography of the same name of Reinaldo Arenas, which was published in English in 1993. The screenplay was written by Schnabel, Cunningham O'Keefe, and Lázaro Gómez Carriles...
, which became Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem is a Spanish actor. In 2007 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as sociopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, and has also garnered critical acclaim for roles in films such as Jamón, jamón, Carne trémula, Boca a boca, Los...
's breakthrough Academy Award nominated role and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a 2007 biographical drama film based on Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir of the same name. The film depicts Bauby's life after suffering a massive stroke, on December 8, 1995, at the age of 42, which left him with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. The...
, which was nominated for four Academy Awards.
He has won a Golden Globe, as well as BAFTA, a César Award
César Award
The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
, a Golden Palm, two nominations for the Golden Lion
Golden Lion
Il Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
and an Academy Award nomination.
Early life and education
Born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Esta Greenberg and Jack Schnabel. Schnabel moved with his family to Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
when still young. It was in Brownsville that he spent most of his formative years and where he took up surfing and resolved to be an artist. He is from a Jewish background and his mother was president in 1948 of the Brooklyn chapter of Hadassah
Hadassah
Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with around...
, a religious Women's Zionist Organization in America.
He received his B.F.A.
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
at the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
. After graduating, he sent an application to the independent study program at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
in New York. His application included slides of his work sandwiched between two pieces of bread. He was admitted into the program. Schnabel worked as a short-order cook and frequented Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South, in New York City, which was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Origin of name:...
, a restaurant-nightclub, while he worked on his art. In 1975, Schnabel had his first solo show at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston. Over the next few years he traveled frequently to Europe, where he was enormously impressed by the work of Antoni Gaudi
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was...
, Cy Twombly
Cy Twombly
Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly, Jr. was an American artist well known for his large-scale, freely scribbled, calligraphic-style graffiti paintings, on solid fields of mostly gray, tan, or off-white colors...
and Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
.
Art
It was with his first solo show, at the Mary BooneMary Boone
Mary Boone is the owner and director of the Mary Boone Gallery and was instrumental in the New York art market of the 1980s...
Gallery in 1979, however, that Schnabel would truly come to be regarded as a major new force in the art world. He participated at the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
in 1980, and by the mid-1980s had become a major figure in the Neo-expressionism
Neo-expressionism
Neo-expressionism is a style of modern painting and sculpture that emerged in the late 1970s and dominated the art market until the mid-1980s...
movement. By the time he exhibited his work in a show jointly organized by Boone and Leo Castelli
Leo Castelli
Leo Castelli was an American art dealer. He was best known to the public as an art dealer whose gallery showcased cutting edge Contemporary art for five decades...
in 1981, he had become firmly established. His now famous "plate paintings"—large-scale paintings set on broken ceramic plates—received a boisterous and critical reception from the art world. A reputation for making brash pronouncements about his importance to the art world - I'm the closest thing to Picasso that you'll see in this *#@ life - engendered contempt from both colleagues and the viewing public. Schnabel is currently represented by The Pace Gallery
Pace Gallery
The Pace Gallery is a New York City-based exhibition space. It was founded in 1960 in Boston by Arne Glimcher.-PaceWildenstein:From 1993 until April 1, 2010, the gallery became "PaceWildenstein," a joint business venture between the Pace Gallery and Wildenstein & Co....
in New York.
Schnabel's signature works contain an underlying edge of brutality, while remaining suffused with compositional energy. Schnabel claims that he's aiming at an emotional state, a state that people can literally walk into and be engulfed.
Schnabel insists he is a painter first and foremost, though he is better known for his films.
Museum collections
His works are in the collections of various museums throughout the world, among them the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
; Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York; The Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
; The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles is a contemporary art museum with three locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near Walt Disney Concert Hall...
; Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
; Reina Sofia
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is the official name of Spain's national museum of 20th century art . The museum was officially inaugurated on September 10, 1992 and is named for Queen Sofia of Spain...
in Madrid; Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
in London and the Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou is a complex in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil and the Marais...
in Paris.
Schnabel recently had an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario
Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, 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]".
Directing
In addition to his work as an artist, Schnabel has written and directed the films Basquiat, a biopic on the painter Jean-Michel BasquiatJean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting.-Early life:...
(1996), and Before Night Falls
Before Night Falls (film)
Before Night Falls is a 2000 film directed by Julian Schnabel. The screenplay is based on the autobiography of the same name of Reinaldo Arenas, which was published in English in 1993. The screenplay was written by Schnabel, Cunningham O'Keefe, and Lázaro Gómez Carriles...
(2000), an adaptation of Reinaldo Arenas
Reinaldo Arenas
Reinaldo Arenas was a Cuban poet, novelist, and playwright who despite his early sympathy for the 1959 revolution, grew critical of and then rebelled against the Cuban government.- Life :...
' autobiographical novel, which he also produced. He directed The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a 2007 biographical drama film based on Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir of the same name. The film depicts Bauby's life after suffering a massive stroke, on December 8, 1995, at the age of 42, which left him with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. The...
(2007), an adaptation (with a screenplay by Ronald Harwood) of a French memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Jean-Dominique Bauby
Jean-Dominique Bauby was a well-known French journalist, author and editor of the French fashion magazine ELLE.On 8 December 1995 at the age of 43, Bauby suffered a massive stroke. When he woke up twenty days later, he found he was entirely speechless; he could only blink his left eyelid...
. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a 2007 biographical drama film based on Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir of the same name. The film depicts Bauby's life after suffering a massive stroke, on December 8, 1995, at the age of 42, which left him with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. The...
earned him the award for best director
Best Director Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Director Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946....
at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
2007 Cannes Film Festival
The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...
, the Golden Globe for best director, the Independent Spirit Award for best director, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. Schnabel, who designed Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
's critically acclaimed 'Berlin' Tour in 2007, also released 'Berlin the Movie'. Despite the fact that producing The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a 2007 biographical drama film based on Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir of the same name. The film depicts Bauby's life after suffering a massive stroke, on December 8, 1995, at the age of 42, which left him with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. The...
might seem like a commission to do someone else's work, Schnabel took on the film. According to Schnabel,
His latest film Miral
Miral
Miral is a 2010 biographical political film directed by Julian Schnabel. The screenplay was written by Rula Jebreal, based on her novel. The film was released on 3 September at the 2010 Venice Film Festival and on 15 September 2010 in France. The film was set for release on 3 December 2010 in the...
was shot in Jerusalem in 2009.
Writing and recording
Schnabel published his autobiography CVJ: Nicknames of Maitre D's & Other Excerpts From Life (Random House, New York), in 1987 and released the album Every Silver Lining Has a CloudEvery Silver Lining Has a Cloud
-Credits:*Buckethead: Guitar, Vocals *Carey Burtt: Guitar*Teddy Daniel: Flugelhorn*Anton Fier: Drums, Vocals *Julian Bernard Fowler: Piano, Vocals *Oz Fritz: Engineer, Mixing*Brian Kelly: Guitar, Design...
on Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
(Catalog #314-524 111-2) in 1995. Recorded in Brooklyn, New York in 1993, the album features guest musicians including Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
, Bernie Worrell
Bernie Worrell
George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
, Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
, and Nicky Skopelitis
Nicky Skopelitis
Nicky Skopelitis is an American guitarist and composer from Greek heritage. He is best known as a guitarist, but also performs on banjo, oud, lute, keyboards and other instruments....
.
Personal life
Schnabel lives in New York, maintaining studios in New York City and in MontaukMontauk, New York
Montauk [ˈmɒntɒk] is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet with the same name located in the town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States on the South Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 3,851 as of 2000...
on the eastern end of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
with a house in San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
in Spain. He has three children by his first wife, clothing designer Jacqueline Beaurang: two daughters, Lola, a painter and film-maker, Stella, a poet and actress, and a son, Vito
Vito Schnabel
Vito Schnabel , the son of Julian Schnabel and his first wife, Jacqueline, is an art dealer based in New York City.He represents Theo A. Rosenblum, René Ricard, Vahkn Arslanian, Terence Koh, Dustin Yellin and Ron Gorchov and has shown his artists at Nicholas Robinson Gallery and in Richard Avedon's...
, an art dealer.
He also has twin sons, Cy and Olmo, by his second wife, Spanish Basque actress Olatz López Garmendia. Garmendia appeared in Before Night Falls, and is also to be seen in The Diving Bell, as Bauby's physical therapist. Schnabel is fluent in Spanish. He also learned French to direct The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
His collaboration with Rula Jebreal, who penned the screenplay and original source novel for Schnabel's film Miral
Miral
Miral is a 2010 biographical political film directed by Julian Schnabel. The screenplay was written by Rula Jebreal, based on her novel. The film was released on 3 September at the 2010 Venice Film Festival and on 15 September 2010 in France. The film was set for release on 3 December 2010 in the...
, extended beyond the movie. Schnabel is currently in a relationship with her.
Schnabel resides at 360 West 11th Street, in a former West Village horse stable that he purchased and converted for residential use, adding five luxury condominiums in the style of a Northern Italian palazzo. It is named the Palazzo Chupi
Palazzo Chupi
Palazzo Chupi at 360 West 11th Street between Washington and West Streets in the West Village section of the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City is a residential condominium building built by artist Julian Schnabel in the form of a homage to the style of a Northern Italian...
and it's easy to spot because it is painted pink.
Filmography
- Basquiat (1996)
- Before Night FallsBefore Night Falls (film)Before Night Falls is a 2000 film directed by Julian Schnabel. The screenplay is based on the autobiography of the same name of Reinaldo Arenas, which was published in English in 1993. The screenplay was written by Schnabel, Cunningham O'Keefe, and Lázaro Gómez Carriles...
(2000) - The Diving Bell and the ButterflyThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film)The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a 2007 biographical drama film based on Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir of the same name. The film depicts Bauby's life after suffering a massive stroke, on December 8, 1995, at the age of 42, which left him with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. The...
(2007) - Lou Reed's BerlinBerlin: Live At St. Ann's WarehouseBerlin: Live At St. Ann's Warehouse is a concert film and live album by Lou Reed released in 2008. The concert film was directed by Julian Schnabel, live at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, NY during five nights in December 2006...
(2007) - MiralMiralMiral is a 2010 biographical political film directed by Julian Schnabel. The screenplay was written by Rula Jebreal, based on her novel. The film was released on 3 September at the 2010 Venice Film Festival and on 15 September 2010 in France. The film was set for release on 3 December 2010 in the...
(2010)
See also
- Bruno BischofbergerBruno BischofbergerBruno Bischofberger is an art dealer and gallerist from Zurich, Switzerland, and a major figure in the international art market for several decades...
- List of artists who created paintings and drawings for use in films
- Curley, Mallory. A Cookie Mueller Encyclopedia, Randy Press (2010)