Julian Schnabel Shows 'Selected Works From Home'

Guild Hall will present the exhibition “Julian Schnabel: Selected Works From Home” from August 4 through October 27 in the newly inaugurated Marks Family Galleries. The show opens with a member preview day on Saturday, August 3. Guild Hall’s summer gala guests will enjoy an exhibition preview on Friday, August 2.

Julian Schnabel was a leading figure among the artists who reinvigorated the practice of painting in the late 1970s, adopting nontraditional materials and unconventional modes of construction to create monumental works. He remains one of the most seminal and prolific artists working today and has been a significant figure in contemporary art discourse since his first New York solo show at Mary Boone Gallery in 1979. His experimental and often revolutionary approach extends throughout his creative work in various mediums — including painting, sculpture, architecture and award-winning feature films. Every aspect of his life is filtered through a painter’s lens, as Schnabel lives and works in carefully considered spaces, often en plein air, surrounded by objects dating from antiquity to the present, many created by artists and artist friends, both living and dead, and by the artist himself.

“Julian Schnabel: Selected Works From Home” presents a selection of the artist’s paintings, drawings, and sculptures from his personal collection — the works he has chosen to keep for himself and to live among. The works on view, made over the last 45 years, include an early wax painting, “Procession (for Jean Vigo)” from 1979; “Salinas Cruz,” a painting on velvet from 1984; paintings on printed materials and tarpaulins; and multiple plate paintings, which show the different possibilities of working in this manner and with this specific material over decades. Schnabel’s art evokes a deep yet elusive connection to humanity. The installation of his large-scale works within Guild Hall’s intimate galleries offers visitors an all-encompassing, contemplative experience — a rare opportunity to lose oneself in the artworks, their history, and their transformation — and to capture a sense of time suspended.

This exhibition is organized by Melanie Crader, director of visual arts, in close collaboration with the artist, and Patrick Hillman, executive assistant to Julian Schnabel.

On Saturday, August 3, at 6 p.m., Guild Hall will present “A Conversation With Julian Schnabel” in the newly renamed Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan Theater at Guild Hall. Beginning in August, Sag Harbor Cinema will also celebrate Schnabel with a complete retrospective of his powerful and influential cinematic work.

“In 1998, Julian had a solo show at Guild Hall and is an Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient,” explained Crader. “As someone with a long history of living and working in Montauk and being part of its community, we are thrilled that Julian returns to Guild Hall with this intimate installation of an extraordinary and historical body of work. We are pleased to also celebrate him at our summer gala, especially at the final phase of our campus-wide renovation and the same year he releases his newest feature film

Additional exhibition-related programs will be announced. Guild Hall is at 158 Main Street in East Hampton. Visit guildhall.org for more details.