ANN ARBOR, MICH.- Julian Schnabel provides a major entry into work created by the painter celebrated for a visual language that brings together unexpected materials and radically unconventional techniques. The exhibition, which originated at the Brant Foundation Art Study Center in Greenwich, Connecticut before traveling to UMMA, features artworks from the mid-1970s to the present.

Celebrated for a visual language that brings together unexpected materials and radically unconventional techniques, artist Julian Schnabel has been a pioneering, and controversial, figure since his first solo exhibition in 1979. As part of a group of 1980s artists known as Neo-Expressionists (a term that he would reject), Schnabel wanted to return to painting pre-abstraction, and forged a practice that encompassed figuration, personal narratives, and references to history and mythology. His paintings, sculptures, and works on paper have been the subject of numerous exhibitions at museums worldwide, including the current exhibition of his work at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (on view through September 27). Also a renowned filmmaker, in 1996 Schnabel wrote and directed the feature film Basquiat about artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, produced by Peter Brant. Brant Publications, Inc., is a leading art publisher whose titles include Art in America and Interview, among other important art magazines. Mr. Brant is also an entrepreneur, manufacturing executive, philanthropist, sportsman, and art collector who has a personal passion for contemporary art.

This exhibition was organized by the Brant Foundation Art Study Center. Lead support for UMMA’s installation is provided by Joseph and Annette Allen, the University of Michigan Office of the Provost, the University of Michigan Health System, the Richard and Rosann Noel Endowment Fund, and Retirement Income Solutions.