Julian Schnabel Polaroids: Beyond Infinity and Grandview
Nicola McCartney, Friday, 8th October 2010
Getting into the spirit of the approaching madness that is Frieze Art Fair is one of London’s oldest and most prestigious dealerships in old masters, Colnaghi. To coincide with the contemporary art fair, Bernheimer Fine Art Photography is hosting the exhibition ‘Julian Schnabel Polaroids: Beyond Infinity and Grandview’ at the Bond St gallery, an extraordinary collection of Polaroids by the contemporary American artist and film director.
Schnabel first received acclaim for his ‘plate paintings’ in the early 1980s and has since created an influential body of work, including paintings and sculpture, and he has successfully dabbled in filmmaking, directing Basquiat (1996) and the award-winning The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007). His photography, perhaps, receives less attention, however, because of its predominantly documentary or playfully domestic nature. Less ‘artistic’ or ‘directed’, Schnabel’s Polaroids are therefore an interesting (and almost objective) form of voyeurism into his practice and personal life – the exhibition includes images of his family and high-profile friends, such as Lou Reed, Christopher Walken and Mickey Rourke, alongside photographs of the artists’ private spaces within the Palazzo Chupi in New York and the interiors and surroundings of his studios in Brooklyn, Montauk and Manhattan.
Schnabel took these large-format Polaroids, both in colour and black and white, with a dolly-mounted Polaroid 20x24 1970s camera. They have a crude honesty to them, aided by the fact that Schnabel is evidently still experimenting with the medium, and which is emphasised by their rough edges that add to the grime of the New York he presents as his muse. Most interesting are the interior shots of his house and studios, which present Schnabel as an artist, collector and valued friend – giddy smiles and silly poses demonstrate that even the famous relax in his company.
I have no doubt that without a previously successful artistic career and such famous friends, Schnabel’s Polaroids would not have merited their own exhibition, but they are independently good, achieving a biographical quality without too much self-glorification, and are well juxtaposed in the old master galleries of Colnaghi.
‘Julian Schnabel Polaroids: Beyond Infinity and Grandview’ is on until 12 November 2010 at Colnaghi, 15 Old Bond St, London
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