Julian Schnabel's 'Italy Through Its Trees' at Pace Gallery

Julian Schnabel's exhibition 'Italy Through Its Trees' at Pace Gallery in New York features 17 works, including paintings on maps and plate paintings, all depicting the Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea). The series originated during the filming of 'In the Hand of Dante' near Villa Borghese and continued en plein air in Ansedonia. Despite Schnabel's claim that the works are not images of trees, the paintings remain legibly figurative, echoing René Magritte's 'Ceci n'est pas une pipe.' The critic Alfred Mac Adam, writing in The Brooklyn Rail, describes the effect as a 'phenomenology of geometric vision,' but notes that the hypnotic effect relies on the still-readable vegetal form. The works are anchored to specific referents: Italy from the film and the trees of a real house. The exhibition runs from May 15 to August 14, 2026.