Brooding on the vast abyss, 1998

Julian Schnabel   Master Artists

He studied Fine Arts at the University of Houston where he obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts, as well as at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. From then on, Schnabel threw himself into painting, mixing both abstraction and figuration. In doing so, he ran counter to the conceptual art movement of the 1970s, and soon managed to make his mark on the New York art scene. The artist uses a variety of methods to achieve his artistic aims, including collage. He organised his first solo exhibition at the Mary Boone Gallery on Fifth Avenue in 1979. The following year, he participated at the Venice Biennale.

Julian Schnabel is a curious artist, and interested in all forms of art. In 1996, he became interested in filmmaking and began a career as a director. His first film was a biography of the life of the American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. He then directed "Avant la nuit" (Before Night Falls) inspired by Reinaldo Arenas' novel, then the "Scaphandre et le papillon" (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), adapted from Jean-Dominique Bauby's autobiographical novel. The film was a huge success, and was rewarded around the world. Schnabel won a Golden Globe and a Caesar.

In 2002 he discovered polaroid photography. Since then, he has been exhibiting those photographs in museums around the world, such as in London, Milan and Paris.