7/3/2008
Julian Schnabel
Kiasma, Helsinki
The new works of the grown up enfant terrible are linked with the sensational plate paintings of the 1980s in an exhibition presenting the career of the prolific artist. As well-known for his huge works as his eccentric personality, Julian Schnabel, also a successfull film director, has said he will use any means available to express himself.
curated by Marja Sakari
The legend of Julian Schnabel (b. 1951), a paradigm of a mythical and heroic artist, began
in the art world of New York in the 1980’s. Nearly overnight, an unknown chef and taxi chauffeur became a world famous artist, know as much for his personality as his
apartment-sized paintings or his success as an award-winning movie director.
The name of the exhibition reveals the intuitive, surprisingly connective working method of
Julian Schnabel: “conscious gaze” and “frightened young nuns” are separate text fragments from a book by the director Andrei Tarkovsky. Presented in the exhibition are 32 works spanning three decades and displaying the artistic attitude, self-confidence and fearlessness of Schnabel:
everything is possible. The materials used in the paintings can be tarpaulin, plates or pieces of wood, the subjects vary from antique mythology to the family of the artist, and the elements used can be colours, shapes, objects, texts, human figures or photographs. The same lack of prejudice is unveiled also by the artist’s success in his new art form, as a movie director. Also a sculptor, Schnabel has said that he will use any means possible to express himself.
“The Kiasma collections include important American art works from the previous decades”, says Berndt Arell, the Museum Director of Kiasma. “We want to portray in more detail a few of those artists – now it’s Julian Schnabel’s turn. Not only is the exhibition on display in Kiasma the first major museum exhibition by Schnabel in Finland, but it also gives an insight into the current
position of painting in contemporary art.”
The paintings of Julian Schnabel represent a style called neo-expressionism, wild painting,
transavanguardia or “the return of the painting” that was born in the 1970-80s as a reaction to the minimalist conceptual art. The style was typically exaggerating, vivid, assertive, even violent in its approach to the painting’s surface. It was also strongly subjective in its approach to both
art itself and being an artist. The individualistic emphasis was apparent also in the interest expressed towards the personality of the artist. Thus celebrity has been a part of the artistry of Julian Schnabel from the very beginning – the intriguing story of a nobody becoming the centre of the attention is as prominent a trade mark of the artist as is the vastness of his paintings.
The newest works by Julian Schnabel are on display in Helsinki at Galerie Forsblom the 6th March – 13th April.
Further information
Milla Unkila, +358 9 1733 6507, milla.unkila@kiasma.fi
Kiasma
Mannerheiminaukio 2, Helsinki