Salomé

Salomé is a major representative of the neo-Expressionist Neue Wilde (neo-Fauve) movement which formed around 1980 and which derived its inspiration from Expressionism. In 1973, he moved to Berlin and studied art under Ulrich Knirpsel and Karl Horst Hödicke at the University of Arts. In 1977 he, Rainer Fetting (his partner at the time), Helmut Middendorf, Bernd Zimmer and others set up their own art gallery, Galerie am Moritzplatz. In 1980, Salomé took part in an exhibition, organised by this art gallery at Haus am Waldsee in Berlin. The exhibition was entitled “Heftige Malerei (Vehement Painting)”. Two years later, he participated in documenta 7 in Kassel. Salomé also works as a punk musician, has taken part in film projects and performances and has produced stage sets and stage designs. Furthermore, he created a range of porcelain sculptures and tableware for companies such as Rosenthal. Salomé’s best-known works include his richly coloured paintings of floaters and water lilies, which can be seen, for instance, in the foyer of the Rheinische Landestheater (the Rhineland State Theatre) in Neuss, and his Rainbow Stele on Nollendorfplatz in Berlin (2000) as well as nudes and portraits of famous celebrities. Salomé spent his life partly in Berlin and partly in New York until he finally moved to Berlin for good in 1999, where he is still living and working today.