THE BODY IS HIS BOOK (continued)

It has always mystified me how a recluse like David Schoffman found such a devoted following. I was in Shanghai last week, meeting with a group of junior curators from the Quijon Bo when David’s name came up.

“Oh yes …. We studied his work in graduate school. Is he still working on “The Body Is His Book?” Is he really making one-hundred paintings?” “Have you seen any?” “What is he like?” “He looks just like John Malkovich!”

Schoffman only shows his work on rare occasions and must be coaxed to do so. He devotes himself to large-scale operatic projects that take years to complete. He keeps critics and curators at bay and is even guarded among his colleagues.

And yet, whether I’m in Shanghai, Tokyo, Anatolia, Zurich, New York or Miami, people are fiercely interested in David Schoffman’s work.

So, for the record: “The Body Is His Book: One Hundred Paintings” is about half finished. David has about fifty stunning images hung in orderly rows on his studio walls. The work is rich and complex and unlike anything else out there. He is patiently working every day, slowly bringing the work to a state of startling perfection.

Also for the record: He looks nothing like John Malkovich.