Julian Schnabel
(born in New York City in 1951)
Untitled (from the Series Victory Plate Paintings), 2022, oil, ceramic plates and bondo on aluminum, 121.9 x 91.4 x 20 cm
The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist, December 8, 2025
This work is recorded in the internal archive of Clap de Fin LLC (Julian Schnabel Studio) under the no. P22.0039 and is designated for inclusion in the catalogue raisonné and online registry. A written confirmation has been provided, May 1, 2026, New York.
Provenance:
Geuer & Geuer Art, Dusseldorf
Private Collection, Germany
Julian Schnabel’s unconventional use of materials is a defining element of his œuvre, which has influenced contemporary painting since the late 1970s. Through his unique approach of using broken shards of ceramic objects, foregoing the flatness typical of traditional painting, thus creating a fusion of painting and sculpture, the artist found his own personal answer to the heated debate surrounding the heterogeneous art scene of the 1980s.
During a trip through Europe in 1978, Schnabel was inspired by the mosaic technique of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, which he encountered in Park Güell in Barcelona. “My interest, unlike Gaudí’s, was not in the patterning or the design of the glazed tiles, but in the reflective property of the white plates which fracture the picture plane. The differing reflective qualities of the plates and the paints were at odds with one another and with the mosaic as well, as they disrupted its homogeneity.” Upon returning to New York, Schnabel bought a box of plates at a Salvation Army store, smashed them on the floor, and glued the shards onto wooden boards using Bondo, an adhesive filler commonly used for car body repairs.
His mostly large-format, three-dimensional works have become icons of the contemporary art world. The structures of the plates and shards form a naturally restless, organic, and almost inevitable rhythm, which is taken up and continued by the oil paint. In their combination, they produce a faceted refraction of light that changes depending on the viewing angle, resulting in a creation of shimmering vibrancy.
The Victory Plate Paintings series, which includes the work offered for sale at Dorotheum in May, was created from autumn 2020 onwards, in response to Donald Trump’s lost US presidential election. Entitled Victory, the optimism of these works was inspired by the wild sea roses growing in the driveway of the artist’s house in Montauk. The works follow on from the first series of Rose paintings, created between 2015 and 2017, which referenced the flowers on Vincent van Gogh’s grave in Auvers-sur-Oise. In these new works, however, the formerly subtle ash-grey background is replaced by a bright, luminous azure, and the large rose heads give way to numerous small, vibrant, quartz-pink blossoms dancing above dense, emerald-green bushes. Dipped in paint, the plates become the shadows of the leaves and lose their own identity. The works appear to be like a fragment of nature itself, representing it in its entirety.
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
(born in New York City in 1951)
Untitled (from the Series Victory Plate Paintings), 2022, oil, ceramic plates and bondo on aluminum, 121.9 x 91.4 x 20 cm
The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist, December 8, 2025
This work is recorded in the internal archive of Clap de Fin LLC (Julian Schnabel Studio) under the no. P22.0039 and is designated for inclusion in the catalogue raisonné and online registry. A written confirmation has been provided, May 1, 2026, New York.
Provenance:
Geuer & Geuer Art, Dusseldorf
Private Collection, Germany
Julian Schnabel’s unconventional use of materials is a defining element of his œuvre, which has influenced contemporary painting since the late 1970s. Through his unique approach of using broken shards of ceramic objects, foregoing the flatness typical of traditional painting, thus creating a fusion of painting and sculpture, the artist found his own personal answer to the heated debate surrounding the heterogeneous art scene of the 1980s.
During a trip through Europe in 1978, Schnabel was inspired by the mosaic technique of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, which he encountered in Park Güell in Barcelona. “My interest, unlike Gaudí’s, was not in the patterning or the design of the glazed tiles, but in the reflective property of the white plates which fracture the picture plane. The differing reflective qualities of the plates and the paints were at odds with one another and with the mosaic as well, as they disrupted its homogeneity.” Upon returning to New York, Schnabel bought a box of plates at a Salvation Army store, smashed them on the floor, and glued the shards onto wooden boards using Bondo, an adhesive filler commonly used for car body repairs.
His mostly large-format, three-dimensional works have become icons of the contemporary art world. The structures of the plates and shards form a naturally restless, organic, and almost inevitable rhythm, which is taken up and continued by the oil paint. In their combination, they produce a faceted refraction of light that changes depending on the viewing angle, resulting in a creation of shimmering vibrancy.
The Victory Plate Paintings series, which includes the work offered for sale at Dorotheum in May, was created from autumn 2020 onwards, in response to Donald Trump’s lost US presidential election. Entitled Victory, the optimism of these works was inspired by the wild sea roses growing in the driveway of the artist’s house in Montauk. The works follow on from the first series of Rose paintings, created between 2015 and 2017, which referenced the flowers on Vincent van Gogh’s grave in Auvers-sur-Oise. In these new works, however, the formerly subtle ash-grey background is replaced by a bright, luminous azure, and the large rose heads give way to numerous small, vibrant, quartz-pink blossoms dancing above dense, emerald-green bushes. Dipped in paint, the plates become the shadows of the leaves and lose their own identity. The works appear to be like a fragment of nature itself, representing it in its entirety.
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
