Anh, 1988

About the Work

Since the 1980s, Julian Schnabel has been experimenting with a wide variety of materials, including oil, wax, emulsion and plaster, which he likes to apply to fabrics he happens upon, such as sailcloth and tent canvas. Typical of and essential to his monumental works are the enigmatic titles, which refer, on the one hand, to private matters and on the other, to public affairs. While 'Anh' refers to the first name of his former lover, the 'Jane Birkin' series alludes to the singer and actress - whom Schnabel did not know personally - but is much more an homage to a sailing boat of that name. This connection is reflected in the unusual picture format with the rounded corner, which not only recalls an upturned sail, but also represents the carrier material. Here, Schnabel painted on an old sail he had purchased during a journey to Egypt.

This radical extension of the painterly spectrum is also visible in his most recent painting. For 'Untitled', he transferred a photo of the floor of his studio, with the colours changed, onto a polyester canvas using an inkjet printer and then processed it with spray paint.