Julian Schnabel: Works On Paper
McClain Gallery, Houston
February 3 – March 3, 2007
McClain Gallery presents "Julian Schnabel: Works on Paper", the first exhibition of "map drawings" in over a decade by the internationally known JULIAN SCHNABEL.
In the early 1980's, a gift of old nautical maps during a surfing trip to Hawaii marked the beginning of this series. These utilitarian maps with its own abstract composition, became the ground for his markmaking. This change of function of a found material with its own history transformed into part of the poetic expression of a finished artwork has been an esthetic device that Julian Schnabel has employed throughout his career. His "tarp" paintings are a prime example.
Much of the imagery of the map drawings evidence Julian Schnabel fascination with palm trees. Tall and graceful, stubby and weatherworn, they suggest the human figure. The making of map drawings has continued through the years, serving as a kind of visual diary of his travels.
Julian Schnabel has established himself as one of the significant creative voices of his generation. As a painter, sculptor, film maker, stage set designer and architectural designer, he has collaborated with artists of almost every discipline of the visual and performing arts.
Julian Schnabel began his career as an artist at the University of Houston and was the subject of his first one person museum exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston in 1976. His works have been exhibited all over the world and has been the subject of retrospective exhibitions at the Tate Gallery, London, The Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, The Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, The Tamayo Museum, Mexico City, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, and numerous other museums.
He is an award-winning film director with the features "Basquiat" and "Before Night Falls" to his credit. Julian Schanbel currently lives and works in New York City, Montauk, New York, and San Sebastian, Spain.
McCLAIN GALLERY
2242 Richmond Avenue, Houston, TX 77098
