David Salle

Biography

David Salle (born 1952) is an American painter, printmaker, photographer and stage designer associated with Postmodernism, Neo-Expressionism and the Pictures Generation. Born on September 28, 1952, in Norman, Oklahoma, he grew up in Wichita, Kansas, and studied at the California Institute of the Arts, earning his BFA in 1973 and MFA in 1975.

Salle moved to New York in the mid-1970s and gained major recognition during the 1980s. His paintings are known for combining and layering seemingly unrelated images from art history, popular culture, advertising and his own photographs. This distinctive approach created complex and ambiguous compositions.

He has also worked in printmaking, photography, sculpture, theater design and film. In 1995, he directed the feature film Search and Destroy. He has written extensively about art and contributed essays and criticism to several major publications.

Salle remains an important figure in contemporary American art. His innovative use of pastiche, layered imagery and multiple visual references helped redefine painting during the postmodern art movement of the 1980s.