Julian Schnabel with May Andersen and Peter Brant, via Art Observed Staff
Painter, sculptor, filmmaker, Julian Schnabel is larger than life, and so are his artworks, some towering to two to three times the height of an average person.  The artist’s monumental works are currently being shown at The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, on view through March.  The exhibition captures the diversity of Schnabel’s work, from the many facets of his “plate paintings†to the table he designed for Francisco Clemente. By bringing Schnabel’s emblematic works together, the Brant Foundation offers a comprehensive look at how Schnabel has impacted the art world in a way that has not been attempted since the Whitney Museum’s retrospective show 26 years ago.
Julian Schnabel, The Walk Home (1985), via Art Observed Staff
In addition to Schnabel’s work, the exhibition also shows the fertile relationship he has had with the Brant Family. On the lower level several portraits of Peter Brant’s family can be seen, commissioned by the family for Schnabel’s signature style. The most esoteric portrait commissioned is that of the portrait of Lily Brant. Legend has it that the top half of the painting was blotted out in white after Ms. Brant remarked she did not like the eyes and if Schnabel could do something about it. That was 1998. In 2001, Schnabel finished his two paintings, both entitled Large Girl with No Eyes, in which he reproduced a portrait he found at a thrift shop except with a swath of purple covering their eyes.
Julian Schnabel, E o OEN (1988), via Art Observed Staff
With that in mind, The Brant Foundation brought the art to life last Sunday, bringing a number of guests to the opening event, including a large group of attendees who Schnabel himself has captured in portrait. It’s not at every opening that viewers get to see the subject of a portrait next to the actual piece painted of them. Â Other luminaries of various disciplines also attended the opening, among them were Stephanie Seymour, Christopher Walken, Benicio Del Toro, Calvin Klein, Nicole Miller, Debbie Harry, Tommy Hilfiger, and Rita Ackermann.
The Brant Foundation Art Study Center is open to the public Mondays through Fridays, from 10AM to 4PM by appointment in Greenwich, CT.
Andre Balazs, via Art Observed Staff
Larry Gagosian, at the Brant Foundation Art Study Center, via David X Prutting / BFAnyc.com
Rita Ackermann, via Art Observed Staff
Julian Schnabel, El Espontaneo (For Abelardo Martinez), via Art Observed Staff
Julian Schnabel, untitled (Banana e’Buona) (1988), via Art Observed Staff
Klaus Biesenbach, via Art Observed Staff
Installation View, Julian Schnabel, at the Brant Foundation Art Study Center, via David X Prutting / BFAnyc.com
Julian Schnabel, Large Girl with No Eyes (2001), via Art Observed Staff
Dan Colen, via Art Observed Staff
Christopher Walken, via Art Observed Staff
Benecio del Toro, via Art Observed Staff
Allison Brant and Julian Schnabel at the Brant Foundation Art Study Center, via David X Prutting / BFAnyc.com
Julian Schnabel, Eulalio Epiclantos After Seeing St. Jean Vianney on the Plains of the Cure d’Ars (1986), via Art Observed Staff
Andrea Rosen, via Art Observed Staff
Julian and Vito Schnabel at the Brant Foundation Art Study Center, via David X Prutting / BFAnyc.com
Installation View, Julian Schnabel, at the Brant Foundation Art Study Center, via David X Prutting / BFAnyc.com
—B. Richards
Read more:
Exhibition Site [The Brant Foundation Art Study Center]
“Julian Schnabel Retrospective Opens in Greenwich” [WWD]
