David Salle 大卫·萨利 Tree of Life, The Artist’s Palette《生命之树,艺术家的调色板》 , 2021

Tree of Life, The Artist’s Palette (2021) belongs to a series of paintings by American artist David Salle characterised by stylised tree trunks that bisect the top half of the composition. The brightly coloured trees contrast with two grisaille figures: a forlorn-looking man in a dressing gown and a half-naked fleeing woman, both rendered in the style of cartoonist Peter Arno’s mid-century illustrations for The New Yorker magazine. The action is presented as a still frame, leaving the viewer to interpret the nature of the interaction.

Salle’s celebrated Tree of Life works incorporate a second panel beneath the narrative scene. The roots of the trees pass precariously into this subterranean world which typically makes reference to art historical movements or, in this example, the artist’s own palette, visualising the foundations upon which contemporary art draws for nourishment.

《Tree of Life, The Artist’s Palette》(2021)是美国艺术家大卫·萨利(David Salle)的系列画作,其共同特点是风格化的树干在中央将构图的上半部一分为二。色彩鲜豔的树木与两个灰调人物构成强烈对比:一个穿着晨衣的孤独男子和一个半裸逃跑的女人,两者均以漫画家彼得·阿诺 (Peter Arno) 半世纪前为纽约客杂誌 (The New Yorker) 杂誌绘製的插图风格呈现。动作以静止帧的形式呈现,让观众自己诠释画中二人互动的性质。

萨利着名的《生命树》作品在叙事场景下方加入了第二个面块。树的根部岌岌可危地植根于某个地下世界,它通常是某种艺术历史运动的象徵,或者在这个例子中, 是艺术家自己的调色板,把当代艺术汲取养份的基础形象化地呈现出来。