Reconsidering Julian Schnabel

I have recently read Raphael Rubinstein's review* on Julian Schnabel, the American artist and film maker.

Below are my key take-aways from this text:

The Argument

Rubinstein's argument is that Schnabel's art has been overlooked throughout his career due to his more popular films. "His paradox is to be at once highly visible as a cultural figure and

deeply invisible as a painter."-pg 111

The Proposition

Rubsinstein's proposition is Schanbel's investigation and use of non-typical painting materials was a fresh progression in the neo-expressionist art movement, unique in its similarity to the material exploration of post minimalist sculpture. "What Schnabel brought to painting was the kind of freewheeling

approach to materials that had been pioneered in Post-Minimalist sculpture, and by early 1970s abstract experimenters such as Alan Shields and Harmony Hammond." - pg 112

The Thesis

Rubinstein's thesis is that the art world would have had a different relationship with abstract expressionism if there had been more attention and awareness of Schnabel's work. "We might not have spent so much time playing out the endgames of abstraction; we might have seen the physical components of painting subjected to the same explosion of resources that occurred in sculpture and installation art; we might have enjoyed a wealth of art driven by emotion and empathy rather than by style and theory (but still

historically savvy and restlessly experimental)."-pg 118

The Claim

Rubinstein claims that Schnabel's dismissal within the art world has much to do with his insistence of the romantic side of abstract expressionism. "I suspect that Schnabel's insistence on what many dismiss as the romantic side of Abstract Expressionism partly accounts for his marginalization: he's like the inconvenient relative who reminds us of a piece of embarrassing family history." -pg 119

How does this relate to my developing art practice?

• Schnabel's use of unconventional materials to make an abstract expressionist piece is similar to my current process.

• This opens the doors for more thought on where my own practice sits in the arts arena.

• The review creates a certain point of reference in the time line of neo-expressionism to an artist whose work I like and can say I intend to build upon.

• I like the idea of my art being hard to reproduce digitally, similarly to Schnabel's works which hit harder in person.

*Rubinstein, Raphael. “THE BIG PICTURE RECONSIDERING JULIAN SCHNABEL.” Art in America, March 2011, 110–19. https://discovery.ebsco.com/c/qc5bq2/viewer/pdf/gtvpkyhx3n.

Photos of some material experimentation of my own below:

-Salvaged mini-pallet, material and various recycled paints/stains. Work in progress

-Salvaged pallet, material and various recycled paints/stains. Work in progress