Julian Schnabel is a leading figure of American neo-expressionism. His work explores a multitude of themes - drawn from his beginnings in filmmaking - deeply human questions of belief, life and death, to mention a few. His style is replete with a gestural energy, utilising paint, photographs, and found materials to produce provocative works that investigate the facets of human experience.

Created on the island of Capri, this deftly executed work layers a darkly hued image with bright marks, appearing as flashes of light amidst the rocky scape. The landscape, rendered with deep blue, appears muted as if committed to memory. The impression is of a sublime response to nature, reminiscent of the romantic painters of the 19th century.

The white marks that extend across the surface of the image punctuate and obstruct the scene; escribed, along with the text, with a sense of vitality and energy. This element of the work is reminiscent of a film editor, cutting frames and notating with grease pencil. On this large scale, the effect is entirely new, producing a palimpsest of history, from the capture of the image, to the making of the mark.

The meaning of the inscription “Every angel has its scary side” is ambiguous, but it reaches out beyond the image to a sense of religious history, tied in with a personal experience of nature, positing a visual language replete with points of artistic influence. Schnabel may be suggesting that even the most beautiful of scenes contain within them a sense of danger or dread, as the rugged cliffs give way to a powerful waves below.

This work is part of series produced by Schnabel in 2008, that were on display at Robilant+Voena in 2022. Each work explores nature and our place within it, contributing to questions of image-making, archives, and personal experience.