Art Review

Puzzled: To get an idea of what Julian Schnabel’s eight paintings at PaceWildenstein Gallery look like, picture one of those generic portraits that often show up in thrift stores: the type in which a solitary figure hovers in front of a blurry field of color.

Next, take away all of the earnest charm the amateur work might have. Then multiply its dimensions four or five times, dunk it in resin and splash a bucket or two of Liquid Paper over large parts of its shiny surface. Finally, entomb the whole thing in a Baroque-style frame made of white fiberglass.

Schnabel’s listless portraits of his family and friends lack the impressive sense of scale he’s usually able to exploit with mock-heroic grandeur. These tepid paintings appear to be smaller than their actual measurements.

Most dedicate only about 10% of their surfaces to the people they depict. The remaining space is reserved for the artist’s bombastic theatrics, which ring so hollow you can’t help but think that they’re meant to signify the demise of a deluded dynasty.

Memorializing failure with such grandiosity is a peculiar endeavor. But when this attempt itself fails, viewers are left without much to look at. Having a lot to wonder about is a poor substitute.

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* PaceWildenstein Gallery, 9540 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 205-5522, through May 23. Closed Sundays and Mondays.