born Oct. 26, 1951, New York, N.Y., U.S.
U.S. painter.
He studied at the University of Houston and the Whitney Museum of American Art. In the 1980s he was a leading exponent of Neo-Expressionism . His works exhibit an ambivalent emotional tone, jarring colour harmonies, and a rough-hewn style; his best-known works incorporate shards of broken plates. Though he has enjoyed considerable success, there has been controversy regarding both the quality of his art and his aggressive self-promotion. Starting in the 1990s, Schnabel began to pursue film. He received widespread critical acclaim for his direction of Before Night Falls (2000), a film about Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas.