About Salter
The work centres around two distinct disciplines, painting and sculpting, both intellectually complementary. He succeeds in transmitting a spiritual analysis that touches our profound sensibilities. This is accomplished with a purity of line and simplicity of form, which transcends a wide range of textures and subtle balanced colours, always searching and aiming towards the light. This shows us at what point the artist attains the depths of the human soul. From this strength of expression flows a force and wisdom...
At present living and working in France. He left his native England in 1991 to install the studio in Provence. Although not someone liking categories he works in two parallel ways "Abstract" & "Abstract Symbolism", "Human Emotions" is a theme that started in1980, evolving symbolically around our everyday lives (Human Warmth). It contains what is essential to us, which is to say the family, our children and the people close to us. The oval recurs incessantly in his work and it passes by a multitude of transformations. As a form it is the representation par excellences for the beginning of life, which is the egg… In contrast, on the other hand, there is the reminder of what may become of the human race, if we do not stop the abuse of our planet. It has become a matter of great urgency. This is well summed up in the painting, “Prise de Conscience” (4m x 1m95).
He is often criticised for in what seems, at first look, an inconsistency in method and effect when comparing one painting with another? This is not surprising for as he says, “it’s the subject that is important (Human Warmth or more simply Human Feelings) and that is as you know far from being monotone”. He is also quoted as saying, “Our multiple humours cannot possibly be depicted with one palette”. So with colour to set the mood and texture to give it depth each painting has its proper life. Portraying, symbolically the facets of human existence but staying within the confines of the overall theme.
SOME FAVOURITE QUOTATIONS
“All art should have a certain mystery and should make demands on the spectator… Everyone thinks that he or she looks but they don’t really, you know.”
Henry Moore
"The earth does not belong to man; it is man that belongs to the earth."
SITTING BULL
"After the last tree has been cut down, after the last river has been poisoned, after the last fish has been caught, only then will you understand that money cannot be eaten."
WHITE CLOUD
"Because when I say successful I mean he plays well and he likes what he's playing. That's success."
ANDRE PREVIN talking about his rock guitarist son
Rodney Goodwin-Salter
Born in the village of Ide near Exeter Devon, (England) 2nd August 1945 he grew up with an extremely inquisitive mind in a contented family background. From a comparatively early age he had a place in which he could work on his multiple projects. Designs, inventing gadgets, whatever the motivation was of the day. There was nothing he liked more than to be working alone in what was ostensibly, his Garden Shed. Although in winter he would bring (if at all possible) whatever he was working on into the sitting room where his mother, a very tolerant soul, would let him chisel, saw, stick and glue. It is not surprising then, with his loathing of mathematics*; that he excelled in every other subject, including working different materials, metal, and wood on one hand and painting, creating art on the other. Drawing was his force as a child; he could always think three dimensionally, in technical drawing or in portraying with light and shade on paper or canvas, whatever the inspiration or subject might be.
In 1961 he started on the long professional learning curve as a “Lithographic artist” with the printers, James Townsend & Sons, this lasted for almost eight years. In effect it was a graphic studio and at that period all originals were hand drawn, that included, as well as the technique of lithography, designing & drawing lettering and illustrations. During this period he spent time at the “Exeter College of Art” under the tutelage of Alan Fishwick, for fine art and Ruth May Woods for lettering and calligraphy. At the latter part of this very rounded training he attended for some months the London College of Printing, at the Elephant & Castle. This training gave him the necessary grounding for what was blossoming into self expression and originality in his art .
Never having had, what he calls, a full blooded pure art college training, he feels was something of an advantage, certainly for him. He wasn’t without his inhibitions and self doubts. Like most creative people…
*mathematics; although far from being his strongest subject, in later life he went on to design and construct many projects that needed complicated technical calculations…
WORKS of ART in private collections: Germany, England, Holland, Austria, Belgium, France, Denmark, U.S.A., Canada, Chile, China (Shanghai).
