Artist of the Month: May

By: V. Tamayo

Our artist of the month in May 2017 is: Julian Schnabel

"All paintings, in fact, are metaphoric. You look at one. It reminds you of something that you might have seen, a key to your imagination." - Julian Schnabel

Julian Schnabel is an American painter and filmmaker, famous for his "plate paintings" produced in the 1980s. As the name explains, these are paintings set on broken ceramic plates. His style is characterised by very large scale paintings, and his use of a wide variety of materials such as: plaster, photographs, velvet, ceramics and more. Schnabel is considered to be part of the Neo-expressionist movement. 

The image above shows one of his artworks "Hope" produced in 1982. It is oil and velvet on velvet. The content of the painting shows a central image - perhaps a self-portrait - standing amid a turbulent scene which includes what seems like another figure, and a skeleton. This pairing suggests struggle and death. However, Art is not only based on the message the artist is trying to pass but also on your interpretation as a viewer, so what do you think the artist wanted to say? What does this artwork remind you of?