David Salle
Encyclopedia
David Salle is an American painter who helped define postmodern sensibility
by combining figuration with a varied pictorial language of multi-imagery. Major exhibitions of his work have taken place at the Whitney Museum of American Art
in New York, the Stedelijk Museum
in Amsterdam, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
, Castello di Rivoli (Torino, Italy), and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
. In March 2009 a group of fifteen paintings were shown at the Kestnergesellschaft Museum in Hannover, Germany. That same year Salle's work was also featured in an exhibition titled The Pictures Generation
curated by Douglas Eklund at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York , in which his work was shown amongst a number of his contemporaries including Richard Prince
, Sherrie Levine
, Cindy Sherman
, Nancy Dwyer, Robert Longo
, Thomas Lawson
, Charles Clough
and Michael Zwack.
Salle was born in Norman, Oklahoma. He earned a BFA and MFA from the California Institute of the Arts
, where he studied with John Baldessari
. Salle’s work first came to public attention in New York
in the early 1980s.
His paintings comprise what appear to be randomly juxtaposed images, or images painted on top of each other with deliberately ham-fisted paint handling. At a 2005 lecture, Salle stated:
Salle also turned his hand to set and costume design, and to directing mainstream cinema. In 1986 Salle received a Guggenheim Fellowship
for theater design, and in 1995 he directed the feature film, Search and Destroy
, starring Griffin Dunne
and Christopher Walken
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114371/. He is a long time collaborator with the choreographer Karole Armitage
as he designs sets and costumes for many of her ballets http://www.armitagegonedance.org/support/art-for-sale/david-salle.
Salle currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Additional information on David Salle including artworks, text panels, articles and full biography
Postmodern art
Postmodern art is a term used to describe an art movement which was thought to be in contradiction to some aspect of modernism, or to have emerged or developed in its aftermath...
by combining figuration with a varied pictorial language of multi-imagery. Major exhibitions of his work have taken place at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
in New York, the Stedelijk Museum
Stedelijk Museum
Founded in 1874, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is a museum for classic modern and contemporary art in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It has been housed on the Paulus Potterstraat, next to Museum Square Museumplein and to the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and the Concertgebouw, in Amsterdam Zuid...
in Amsterdam, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles is a contemporary art museum with three locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near Walt Disney Concert Hall...
, Castello di Rivoli (Torino, Italy), and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art, designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, built by Ferrovial, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. It is built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao to the Atlantic Coast. The...
. In March 2009 a group of fifteen paintings were shown at the Kestnergesellschaft Museum in Hannover, Germany. That same year Salle's work was also featured in an exhibition titled The Pictures Generation
The Pictures Generation
The Pictures Generation was both the name of an exhibition at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art and a means to an end in being the first formal labeling of a group of artists exhibited around their appropriation of images from the consumer and media saturated age in which they grew to maturity...
curated by Douglas Eklund at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York , in which his work was shown amongst a number of his contemporaries including Richard Prince
Richard Prince
Richard Prince is an American painter and photographer. Prince began appropriating photographs in 1975...
, Sherrie Levine
Sherrie Levine
Sherrie Levine is an American photographer and appropriation artist.-Education:Levine received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1969. In 1973, she earned an M.F.A. from the same institution....
, Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman is an American photographer and film director, best known for her conceptual portraits. Sherman currently lives and works in New York City. In 1995, she was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. She is represented by Sprüth Magers Berlin London in and Metro Pictures gallery in...
, Nancy Dwyer, Robert Longo
Robert Longo
Robert Longo is an American painter and sculptor. Longo became famous in the 1980s for his "Men in the Cities" series, which depicted sharply dressed businessmen writhing in contorted emotion.-Early life and education:...
, Thomas Lawson
Thomas Lawson
Thomas Lawson may refer to:*Thomas B. Lawson , American painter*Thomas G. Lawson , U.S. Representative from Georgia*Thomas J. Lawson, Canadian air force general*Thomas W. Lawson , American businessman and author...
, Charles Clough
Charles Clough
Charles Sidney Clough is an American painter. His art has been exhibited in over 60 solo and over 150 group exhibitions throughout North America and Europe and is included in the permanent collections of over 70 museums.-Early life and education:Charles Clough was born and raised in Buffalo, New...
and Michael Zwack.
Salle was born in Norman, Oklahoma. He earned a BFA and MFA from the California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
, where he studied with John Baldessari
John Baldessari
John Anthony Baldessari is an American conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images. He lives and works in Santa Monica and Venice, California...
. Salle’s work first came to public attention in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the early 1980s.
His paintings comprise what appear to be randomly juxtaposed images, or images painted on top of each other with deliberately ham-fisted paint handling. At a 2005 lecture, Salle stated:
When I came to New York in the 70s, it was common not to expect to be able to live from your art. I had very little idea about galleries or the business side of the art world. It all seemed pretty distant. When people started paying attention to my work, it seemed so unlikely that somehow it wasn't so remarkable. I made my work for a small audience of friends, other artists mostly, and that has not really changed. At the same time, having shows is a way of seeing if the work resonates with anyone else. Having that response, something coming back to you from the way the work is received in the world, can be important for your development as an artist. But you have to take it with healthy skepticism... I still spend most days in my studio, alone, and whatever happens flows from that.
Salle also turned his hand to set and costume design, and to directing mainstream cinema. In 1986 Salle received a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
for theater design, and in 1995 he directed the feature film, Search and Destroy
Search and Destroy (film)
Search and Destroy is a 1995 drama film based on a stage play by Howard Korder and directed by David Salle. The film stars Griffin Dunne, repeating his role from the stage production, Rosanna Arquette, Illeana Douglas, Ethan Hawke, Dennis Hopper, John Turturro and Christopher Walken, and features...
, starring Griffin Dunne
Griffin Dunne
-Personal life:Dunne was born Thomas Griffin Dunne in New York City, New York, the son of Ellen Beatriz Dunne and Dominick Dunne. His mother founded the victims' rights organization Justice for Homicide Victims and his father was a producer, writer, and actor...
and Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114371/. He is a long time collaborator with the choreographer Karole Armitage
Karole Armitage
Karole Armitage is an American dancer and choreographer currently based in New York City. She is Artistic Director of Armitage Gone! Dance, a contemporary ballet company that performs several times annually in New York City as well as touring internationally...
as he designs sets and costumes for many of her ballets http://www.armitagegonedance.org/support/art-for-sale/david-salle.
Salle currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
External links
- David Salle Studio Website
- David Salle in the "Pictures Generation," the Metropolitan Museum of Art
- David Salle at Mary Boone Gallery
- David Salle at Lehmann Maupin Gallery
- David Salle at The Saatchi Gallery
- David Salle at Baldwin Gallery
- http://www.armitagegonedance.org/support/art-for-sale/david-salle
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114371/
Additional information on David Salle including artworks, text panels, articles and full biography