£5,533 Festivai:
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.i'filL‘iliii's‘cuuABEL: PAINTING, SCULPTURE AND PHOTOGRAPHS Eloquent. painterly and showy 0...
Few artists get in the way of their work as much as Julian Schnabel. With three decades of building a reputation as a self-aggrandising twerp behind him, Schnabel’s image threatens to occlude his primary career as painter, sculptor and photographer.
At lnverleith House, this conflict between practice and persona seems to be addressed directly. First there is a trio of paintings. All three are painterly to the point of being showy, their surfaces a mess of stitched tarpaulin. Next come huge Polaroids of dogs, with the chemical swirls of the developing process framing each image. Upstairs, there is a series of illustrations of hunting scenes, overpainted with big crude purple splodges. Schnabel seems pretty keen to expose the mechanics of making here.
More Polaroids show life chez Schnabel, like aspirational advertising for a wonder product that can turn puny gallery-goers into international art titans. These images are littered with the works displayed downstairs. as if they can only be truly appreciated when mediated by Schnabel’s own gaze. At this point, the undergrowth of irony becomes so tangled it is impossible to tell who is the butt of the joke.
Whether he is laughing at himself or not, this is an eloquent exhibition on a subject close to Schnabel’s heart: himself. (Jack Mottram)
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WILL THE REAL MONET PLEASE STAND UP Words: Art Bug A
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The best exhibitions this fortnight
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I Black Box Set aside an hour and go see these incredible film installations: Isaac Julien's semi- autobiographic Paradise Omeros; Jane and Louise Wilson‘s disquieting Gamma; Malerie Marder's remarkable film of peOple sleeping, At Rest. and Francesco Vezzoli's The End of the Human Voice. Edinburgh College of Art, 221, 6000, until 7 Sep. free.
I Boyle Family Five star review for the first ever retrospective devoted to Boyle Family, spanning their entire career. From assemblages and trippy films from the 603 to the large-scale hyper-realistic reproductions of the earth‘s surface. miss it at your peril. See review. National Gallery of Modern Art, 624 6200. until 9 Nov. £4 (£3); under 123 free.
I Monet: The Seine and the Sea - Vétheull and Normandy 1878-1883 The eagerly anticipated unveiling of around 80 paintings by the French impressionist, Claude Monet. A painter of extraordinary variety. this five-star show, housed in what has become a world class venue. is a must-see. Royal Scottish Academy Building, 624 6200, until 26 Oct, £8. 50 (£5.50); family ticket £20; under 723 free. I Julian Schnabel The American artist and filmmaker peOpIe love to hate has his first solo show in Scotland since the 80s. The show features paintings on tarpaulin. surfboards and large-scale Polaroids of his family. his dog and of course, himself. See review. lnverleith House. Royal Botanic Garden, 552 7171, until 26 Oct, free.
I Helen Frankenthaler Best- known for her ‘stained-paintings' initiated in the 50s, the first ever Scottish showing of paintings on paper by the influential American artist, Helen Frankenthaler. Royal Scottish Academy Building, 225 6671, until 26 Oct, £5 (£3.50); under 7 23 free.
THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 81