Salle, << SAL ee, >> David (1952-…), is an American artist who became known for works that combine images from many sources in complex and often mysterious ways. Salle’s paintings allow his images to overlap, forcing the viewer to search for possible connections among the painting’s visual elements. His paintings suggest meanings and stories, but they deliberately refuse to make coherent sense, or reach conclusions. They are difficult, if not impossible, to interpret because there is no traditional narrative.
The characteristics of Salle’s style are examples of Postmodern painting. Salle was one of the most important Postmodernists to emerge during the 1980’s and 1990’s in New York City. He gained recognition during the 1980’s as a leader of the return to figurative painting after the domination of abstract art.
Salle’s style reflects the influence of motion-picture techniques in his use of several images in the same painting. He has acknowledged the influence of the American film director Douglas Sirk and the German film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder on his art. In the late 1970’s, Salle traveled to Europe, where he sought out the work of the German Neoexpressionist artists, such as Anselm Kiefer and Gerhard Richter. Neoexpressionism was a movement that emphasized large paintings with intense, often violent treatment of figures. In the late 1970’s, he created works with overlapping images. In 1983, Salle began producing paintings with references to art history.
Salle was born on Sept. 28, 1952, in Norman, Oklahoma. He studied at the California Institute of the Arts from 1970 to 1975, when he moved to New York City. He is also a photographer, filmmaker, stage designer, and sculptor. A collection of Salle’s essays on art appreciation was published as How to See: Looking, Talking, and Thinking About Art (2016).
See also Postmodernism .
