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Lot Essay
David Salle's art emerged parallel to the return of the human figure in painting in the 1970s. By juxtaposing and layering varied and at times completely unrelated images and painting styles, Salle forces the viewer to reinvent the relationships within each painting for himself and thus come up with his own interpretation. Salle argues: "In my images there's a notion of complicity and covertness." (In: xxxxxx,xxx, xxxxx,xxx)
Created for the now legendary 'Zeitgeist' exhibition in 1982 at the Martin Gropius Bau on the border between East and West Berlin, 'Zeitgeist Painting No. 3' depicts a significant and recurring theme in the artist's oeuvre: the representation of women as obvious objects of the male fanstasy, which carries on a tradition in American painting that began with De Kooning's 'Women' and reached an early apotheosis with Tom Wesselmann's sexually charged 'Great American Nudes'. Salle's women are equally de-personalised and degraded and reflect the crisis of interpersonal communication in the post-modern, media driven world of the late 20th century.
Created for the now legendary 'Zeitgeist' exhibition in 1982 at the Martin Gropius Bau on the border between East and West Berlin, 'Zeitgeist Painting No. 3' depicts a significant and recurring theme in the artist's oeuvre: the representation of women as obvious objects of the male fanstasy, which carries on a tradition in American painting that began with De Kooning's 'Women' and reached an early apotheosis with Tom Wesselmann's sexually charged 'Great American Nudes'. Salle's women are equally de-personalised and degraded and reflect the crisis of interpersonal communication in the post-modern, media driven world of the late 20th century.