Goodbye D. (Primary Title)
David Salle, American, born 1952 (Artist)
“It is the viewer’s will to make sense which brings the painting down (as the hunter brings down the bird) and which activates its pessimism.” —David Salle
Salle came to notice in the late 1970s as part of a generation of artists who shared a renewed interest in narrative, myth, and the figure. They were variously called Neo-Expressionists or New Imagists. Salle was also identified as a member of the Pictures Generation, for his critical stance toward media imagery.
Salle’s paintings provoked controversy for their coarse paint handling, seemingly misogynistic representations, and bewildering juxtapositions. In Goodbye D., Salle layers a red-stained background, a grisaille beach scene with two women—of whom one is naked—and line drawings of tribal masks and a crawling nude female.
The stenciled text, “Good Bye D.,” possibly refers to a recent break-up, though Salle reveals no certain answers. These suggestive but inconclusive puzzles convey feelings of disconnection and alienation in Salle’s work, for which he was often called cynical.
The Pictures Generation, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, April 20 - August 2, 2009
Beyond the Frame: American Art 1960-1990, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan, July 6 - August 18, 1991; National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan, August 29 - September 29, 1991; Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan, November 15 - December 15, 1991
David Salle, Fundacion Caja de Pensiones, Madrid, Spain, September 27 - November 13, 1988; Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlungen, Munich, December 8, 1988 - January 29, 1989; The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel, February - April 1989
Contemporary Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Muscarelle Musuem, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, September 30 - November 15, 1987
Selections from the Sydney and Frances Lewis Collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE, March 29 - May 10, 1987
New Art, Tate Gallery, September 14 - October 23, 1983
1983 Biennial Exhibition, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, March 24 - May 29, 1983
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.