Julian Schnabel and the long arc of his plate and map paintings
Published on 08/29/2026 at 13:33 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Julian Schnabel has built a painting practice that treats broken plates, maps and textiles as living surfaces rather than neutral supports. His recent bodies of work, shown in 2026 in New York and at Château La Coste, underscore how consistently he returns to these material experiments across decades.
The plate paintings over time
Schnabel began his now signature plate paintings in the late 1970s, embedding smashed crockery into large, mortar-covered panels before painting over the fractured reliefs. The series consolidated his reputation in the early 1980s, when works like The Patients and the Doctors entered institutional and market circulation.
Recent exhibitions have made clear that he continues to revisit this format rather than treating it as a historical gesture. At Château La Coste, for example, a plate painting from 2023 depicting the artist himself appeared alongside much earlier works, emphasizing continuity rather than nostalgia in the series.
Maps, pines and recurring motifs
Since the 1990s, Schnabel has developed a parallel group of paintings on found maps, often leaving the printed cartography partially visible beneath loose, gestural marks. In the 2026 show Italy Through Its Trees at Pace Gallery in New York, these map works focused on the umbrella pine, a motif he observed while filming In the Hand of Dante near Rome.
The New York exhibition paired map paintings with plate paintings that carry the same arboreal subject, creating what one critic described as a hypnotic repetition of the umbrella pine across different surfaces. Pace notes that the show ran from May 15 to August 14, 2026 at its 540 West 25th Street space, anchoring this recent iteration of the map series.
All news and background on Julian Schnabel
For readers who follow Julian Schnabel across painting, film and exhibitions, the AD HOC NEWS archive offers additional reports on recent shows and critical responses.
The work core across media
Schnabel works primarily in painting yet consistently tests what a painting can absorb, from wax and velvet to boxing ring floors and photographic grounds. His use of repurposed materials ties his studio practice to specific places, including New York, Italy and southern France.
Where the artist stands now
Overall, Julian Schnabel maintains a position as a painter-filmmaker whose long-running plate and map series continue to generate new works and institutionally framed exhibitions rather than resting as closed chapters.
Julian Schnabel at a glance
- Artist: Julian Schnabel
- Medium / Genre: Painting (large-scale, material-based)
- Born: 1951, Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Place(s) of practice: Studio between New York and Europe
- Active since: 1970s, with early plate paintings emerging by the end of that decade
- Key work groups: Plate Paintings, Map Paintings, Portraits, Umbrella Pine Paintings
- Current/last exhibition: Italy Through Its Trees, Pace Gallery, New York, May 15 to August 14, 2026
- Major collections: Public collections in the United States and Europe, including major museums that have exhibited his large-scale paintings over several decades.
- Awards: Recognized in both art and film contexts, including festival prizes linked to his directorial work.
- Next date: currently no announced date in the 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Julian Schnabel
Which Julian Schnabel works were shown in New York in 2026?
The exhibition Italy Through Its Trees at Pace Gallery in New York presented a new group of map paintings and plate paintings centered on the Italian umbrella pine, on view from May 15 to August 14, 2026.
How do Julian Schnabel's plate paintings relate to his recent shows?
The plate paintings, first developed in the late 1970s, appeared alongside newer works at Château La Coste in 2026, where a 2023 self-portrait plate painting was exhibited with earlier examples selected with curator Donatien Grau.
What connects Julian Schnabel's painting practice to his film work?
Projects like the film In the Hand of Dante overlap with his painting, as seen in the umbrella pine motif developed during filming in Italy and later crystallized in the map and plate paintings shown in New York and Provence in 2026.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
