Back in the 80’s the NY Times called Julian “The Carnival Man.” Largely because Schnabel’s paintings share with religious carnivals a mixture of devotional imagery, popular culture, bad taste, large scale, theatrical flair and frenzied expression, his exhibitions become themselves mini-carni- vals, festive and even rapturous for those who share Schnabel’s sense of occasion, irritating and inflated for most of those who don’t.