David Salle

David Salle – Early experiments with photography, video film and text

David Salle was born on 28 September 1952 in Norman, Oklahoma. He attended the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia and attained his Master of Fine Arts there in 1975. One of his teachers was John Baldessari, one of the most important representatives of contemporary conceptual and media art. It was also in this field that David Salle took his first steps: Initially he tried as an artist to combine video film and photography to make new works, and then explored the relationship between images and text. He created interesting works which met however with little resonance in the art world – general acceptance by critics and the public failed to materialise. This changed only when the artist turned to painting in the 1970s and followed new paths. After a number of years of tinkering, learning and experimenting, David Salle increasingly developed his own style which, clearly characterizsd by Appropriation Art, brought him the coveted breakthrough in the early 1980s.

Salle as icon of Conceptual Art in the 1980s

David Salle was represented at Documenta 7 in Kassel already in 1982. The resounding success of his work catapulted him to the pinnacle of the American art scene and from then on, he was a “Superstar”, courted by experts and fans all over the world. In his paintings, David Salle relies on a spirited, often furious combination of quotations from popular cultures, not shying away from soft-pornographic models and assembling these with motifs from the serious daily news to form idiosyncratic collages, often lacking a clear structure and order and thus evading an unequivocal interpretation. Salle therefore moves fully in line with postmodernism. His mix of classical composition and formless ‘Sturm und Drang’ lures and deceives the viewer, leading them astray. Those thus confused do not resent the artist but shower him with praise: more than a few connoisseurs consider David Salle to be the most important figurative artist in recent decades. 

Art in large format – also for the stage

The artist’s preference for large-format paintings expressed itself also in the many works he has created for theatre and film. Many sets were created for the choreograph Karole Armitage and he even directed the independent film “The Moviemaker” (“Search and Destroy”, USA 1995) himself, directing such acting greats as Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper and Ethan Hawke. Even though Salle did not achieve the same formidable success with his film debut as he did with his painting, this episode demonstrates the versatility of the artist. David Salle has received awards and accolades for his work, including the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and membership of the National Academy of Design. Interest in the unique conceptual art is not waning: Almost all the world’s renowned museums have held exhibitions with works by Salle. David Salle lives and works in New York.