About Shelby Salmon

My work explores the layers of the human experience and the merging of the internal and external, the seen and unseen. While in the act of painting my hand pursues a sweet spot between abstraction and figurative representation. Solids seemingly give way to liquid and air. Frothy pastels mingle with blood crimson.  I understand the work through dual meaning and intention. With pieces spanning up to eight feet in width, the scale often adds its own presence, leaving the viewer with an impression of expansion.

This body of work delivers painful concepts in a kind way, connecting the visceral to air, lightness, release, and an opening for transcendence. I begin with my own intuition and personal experiences rooted in my identity as a thinker, a woman and mother; and end with a universal offering.  

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Shelby Salmon (b. 1983, Connecticut) is a Santa Fe-based artist with roots in the museum world. Graduating with a B.A. in Fine Art from The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, she embarked on a dynamic career, first at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, and later at SITE Santa Fe.