@thebrantfoundation

Painted in 2020, David Salle’s “Tree of Life #6” is from his most recent ongoing series that features stylized trees in a variety of settings. In the top panel of this work, the tree bisects the picture plane, guiding the viewer’s gaze across the canvas. The characters on either side, partially obscured by half-eaten leaves, are a pastiche of the illustrator Peter Arno’s New Yorker cartoons, adding an element of sophisticated playfulness to the complex narrative—an allusion to the Garden of Eden. This scene sits above an abstract-expressionist, ‘subterranean’ panel where the viewer is able to observe a cross-section of the usually hidden earth below. It is here that Salle reveals not only the roots of the tree, but also implies the roots of art history, providing nourishment for his tree of knowledge; the power of the subconscious; and the connection between the perennial past and an everlasting present. 🌿@david_salle #DavidSalle ➡️ currently on view at The Brant Foundation’s Greenwich location. Visit brantfoundation.org to plan your visit!