136 - DIRK SALZ (Germany, 1962).

DIRK SALZ (Germany, 1962). Untitled, 2020. Pigments and resin on plywood. Signed and dated on the back. Measurements: 38.5 x 38.5 cm. In Dirk Salz’s work, painting ceases to be a surface and becomes an experience of perception. This piece, created in 2020, is a particularly evocative example of this exploration: a circular form of intense turquoise blue seems to contain an almost liquid depth, while successive layers of color produce a delicate transition from the dark center toward the luminous edges.Salz works with pigments and resin, a technique that allows him to create depth without resorting to traditional perspective. The seemingly simple surface functions as a shifting optical space: depending on the viewer’s distance, the light, and their movement, the work can be perceived alternately as a volume, a cavity, an abstract landscape, or even an object suspended in space. This ambiguity between matter, light, reflection, and perception constitutes one of the fundamental pillars of his work. The circle takes on a particularly powerful presence here. Its elementary geometry eliminates all unnecessary narrative elements and focuses attention on color and the sense of depth. The result establishes a dialogue with the tradition of minimalist painting and, at the same time, with the Dirk Salz is a German artist whose work lies at the intersection of abstraction, minimalism, and research into perception. After studying engineering at RWTH Aachen University, he pursued his artistic training in drawing, painting, and art history in parallel, and has been working as an independent artist since 2002.Throughout his career, he has exhibited in galleries and venues in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, and the United States. Notable among his exhibitions are those held in Miami, New York, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Vienna, and Munich. In 2021, he received, together with Klaus Mackscheidt, the Ruhrpreis für Kunst und Wissenschaft from the city of Mülheim an der Ruhr. His work is also part of private and institutional collections, including that of the Akzo Nobel Art Foundation.