Him: *lights cigar* Me: "ohh boy, here we go..."

"David you ready? "Do that thing you do with the cigar and we'll start filming."

If only we could all love ourselves as much as this guy loves himself.

The first level reaction.. Ohh boy. That cigar, and he's been painting the same painting since he was 14, thats progress !!

How to talk and talk and talk without saying anything at all...Bravo!

the lighting of the cigar was nice and pretentious

I love when he lights up the cigar!.....This could easily be an Abstract Artist 'Mockumentary'

The cigar put me off immediately, but I tried to resist and stayed. There is a lot to save after that. I think it is fundamental to talk about art, and that art not always speaks of itself and this is does not diminish it. The complexity of language, meaning and context behind a lot of good/valid contemporary artworks makes it often impossible to navigate without a map, even for critics and experts. At the same time it is crucial that Art reaches as many people as possible. Surely not all artists are the right people to talk about their own art or even able to, but the idea that good art speaks for itself is naive.

The immediate impact that it had on me was that it was more interpretive bullshit. You knew it was coming as soon as he lit the cigar.

The best thing to do is just paint and not talk about it. ADDENDUM I'm not saying talking about one's work is a bad thing, but let the painting do the talking. If you need to give a painting a title are you worried people might be seeing something other than what you intended? ONE YEAR LATER: Thank you to all who took the trouble to comment. l don't exhibit but am contemplating entering a competition in 2023, purely for the money. I'll let you know if am accepted and whether I'm tempted to speak about myself and my so-called "work." (Yes, l have had to speak to make my point.}

As John Berger suggested, I think art can be seen as a record of a conversation between artist and subject, and the viewer then has another conversation with the work/s. So I appreciate an artist who is later comfortable to talk about honestly their process or intent which can continue the cycle of our dialogue. Sometimes, It is easy to critique these comments for what jar rather than continue the conversation. And sometimes, an artists work just doesn’t speak to me - and I leave the conversation.

Have loved his work since about 94.

I like the intense passion for seeing scenes of lifestories or glimpses of moments of all kinds of something happening - I would use the word - images of life - and somehow I find it liberating that you seen to use a mixture/collage of drawing, painting, photo silscreens and more - they are definitely very interesting to move into -

I am grateful for this video. But it seems to me that it’s very important for an artist to be in a stream and to transmit art that is not based on someone’s opinion, while we artists suffer from a lack of attention and we need to somehow survive, which for me justifies attention to the audience in this way but at the same time it really hurts. This way we are not an artists, you become a manager and a salesman. I would like to wish you, if you have already reached a high position in the world of art, to bend your line more and do YOUR work exactly and vision as much as possible. I am grateful to you for your frankness and for raising this topic.

This is hilarious! Being a NY artist, having weathered many storms, wouldn't it be strange if a turkey vulture suddenly crashed through the windows of his magnificent studio, and landed right on the tip of that cigar.

Art is something, that has been with me since the early years . Now I am going some time lapse videos

when your right your right! That's all that needs saying about this dude! Love it!

as soon as I see someone lit a cigar I can't take them serious anymore :'(

One of the US greatest living artist. Love his New Yorker ? paintings.

Oh common....give him a break. I love that cigar moment. His paint stained pants and that glaring stare into the camera. God, can you imagine weedy Jeff Koons or mild mannered Eric Fischl trying a stunt like that?

Good painting takes you out of conceptualization and into the immediacy of the senses.

I appreciate David Salle sharing some of his process.

wow, it took me many years to connect and understand your work. thank u

Terrific art , enthralled with David's work.

I’m baffled that he doesn’t plan images in advance, BUT paints on panels with in-set separate panels that work like a punctuation…. No stress there at all. The guy is just that good.

Yep, I agree. Immediate impact, and grows in dimension over time. This man is obviously comfortable in his own skin...and it shows in his work. Great video production. It just flows well.

Making a general statement about something as broad as "art" or "painting" is almost always wrong or meaningless. Why? Because the goals and intentions of the art or the artist differ dramatically. Some art is simply about color arrangement or beauty of another sort, some is to make a political statement, some is to evoke feelings of past experiences or memories of events, some is erotic, etc. Some of the art that is devoted to beauty or eroticism will usually have a more immediate impact, but there is quite a bit of art that does not make an impact initially. Only after spending time with some paintings or other types of artwork, and revisiting it from time to time, will its impact develop and evolve and grow slowly. The personalities, experiences, and influences in the lives of the viewers are also quite varied....any piece of artwork will probably not resonate with every viewer, and some art can only be understood or appreciated by a few.

When you enter through the gates of the human heart, there are no rules, or boundaries. Art is just a word. What exactly is or isn’t art. Yes indeed, just paint, just create; Paint, draw, sculpt, write, sing, dance, blow bubbles.... whatever your whispering excitement calls you for. Stop thinking and channel! Thinking is for certain tasks: booking a flight or writing a shopping list. It’s merely a secretary. We are all children at heart. Let’s play and enjoy this play, we call: Life!

Get over the cigar, guys. Mr. Salle lit up because he knew the interview was starting; it helped him focus; as an ex-smoker I know the feeling. Someone asked why he just doesn't paint instead of talking. Because we his admirers want to hear him speaking about his work; he is doing it for us; he feels a certain responsibility. He is a fluent speaker, the result of many years of quietly working on his own; the fruit of experience and reflection. We owe him.

he's one of the most honest artists you will come across!

I love the blue double doors with the archway.

The OMG Light the cigar moment doesn't take away what an extraordinary Artist he is.

Thank you David Salle. I enjoyed everything you said.

Wow! Wow! Wow! I'm genuinely blown away by this work! I'm so inspired. Thank you! I needed to see this. Made my day. 🤗🙏👍💖

For an artist to talk about his/her art is difficult. I just fall silent whenever someone asks me to explain my art.

Thank you for sharing..enjoyed this🐦🐦🎈

None of these paintings are good then- as they had no immediate impact on me, and no impact after a little pause either.

Video was recommended. Title looks interesting. Clicked. Cigar lit. Hit back button.

Actually found it enjoyable, I didn't get the negative vibe as bad as everyone else I guess.

Hes a parody of an artist.. One of the funiest things Ive watched for a long time ....Its like Spinal tap does art....He a creation of a gallery.....a shill.

A bad artist, in my eyes, presents a blank canvas, this man is no where near that.

It seems like history collided with the now. Overlapping timelines with a peaceful window for the reflection of memories. We are all carrying the past into the future. Simultaneous integration. It has to be digested in pieces. What an elegant man is he.

my school is having a sale on all some books in their library. a book about salle is in this collection and is being sold for $2. i thought his work was semi-interesting and wanted to do some research on it. thank god i put that book back on the shelf.

As a „hobby“ artist (is there such a thing?) I am surprised how many negative comments I find here. I am just grateful for people spending their time creating and not destroying something. I think it is of no use for the inner process inside of yourself judging this man for being himself.

His art is aesthetically pleasing.

It’s much better than some of the modern art I’ve seen.

good work!

An artist must put their vision outside of themselves on display, it’s very difficult and vulnerable. Unless you can relate to baring your own soul it’s impossible to understand. Thank you for sharing this perspective.

I left my job in management to pursue my art career. People called me crazy. Hope am not. Hoping I have a bit of talent, and started my youtube channel. Hoping I have support from all of you. Thank you 😊

He’s definitely right about the necessity for balance between the immediate impact and the long term payoff. Paintings are unique in that multiple levels may be present and placed right under the viewer’s nose, and at the same time completely invisible. Consider the painting in which the human body has been used as a mark making instrument. Those impressions were left on the top layer, and as such could conjure for those individuals who participated in its making, the “circus” involved in its creation Now consider the figures composed beneath those impressions, gesturing and turning in a kind of illusory space. These bodies were presumably created through the use of a brush, a much more common experience for the gallery-going crowd. The circus that is laid upon the canvas at this layer, now mirrors the circus taking place in Salle’s mind as he creates, with the brush operating as a fulcrum of sorts. Now, observe the contrast brought to bear upon the mind of the viewer, who considers the image before them and considers the mark making implement and its relationship to the body in mind just by looking at this strange surface. Isn’t this another kind of circus? All this to say that you can focus on the cigar and call him pretentious thereby avoiding any potential embarrassment from exposing your ignorance, or you can take what he’s saying seriously and see where that leads you. There may be something in that experience worth exploring and enjoying. We steal from ourselves when we are too quick to dismiss what we don’t immediately understand.

So beautiful

Google is one click away, stop hatin. Salle's catalogue of works is undeniably remarkable and concrete.

yeah I'm not feeling a heartbeat in the work...

Wow: As soon as the guy lights his cigar, I think to myself “I like this guy in person as much as I do on paper.” (His book is excellent. [Similar swagger.])

Damn. This guy is good. His whole f*ckin' vibe's like a mob boss with a paint brush. And that piece at 1:28. Wow.

Good to see artists that have made it in the art world. Interesting ART. Thanks for sharing. :)

I think some artists forget to actually live and experience reality, so they overcompensate and their work becomes overly contrived by default; they're not expressing themselves authentically; they're creating images to placate their perceived audience...like an interior designer furnishing the lobby of a mediocre hotel.

I feel bad for the people that watched this video and only came away with how he lit his cigar.

A genuine work of art usually displeases at first sight, as it suggests a deficiency in the spectator. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Yeah he is the man

Obviously many people commenting aren't aware that Salle is one of the most influential painters of postmodern art. Sure, he might not be the best technician, but the emotionless quality of the work is part of the expression. And yes his pretentiousness is well known. But I've always been interested in what he has to say. Like the fascination with listening to a philosopher like Derrida or Foucault even if you disagree with everything they're saying.

david sale is a great painter, and his work is much different than schnabel's. his teacher was baldessari and you can tell. he can draw just fine, thank you very much. art isn't just about draftsmanship.

Great voice! Shoulda been in radio. Liked his simpler narrative and enigmatic works best. I don't smoke but I liked the pretentious BIG cigar lighting in the BIG studio!

Love this true narrative

I'm pretty good with picking up on subtle details, but did anyone else notice that he was smoking a cigar throughout the interview?

A vitality of self regard and high dudgeon for the pleboshere.

The negative comments here are pathetic. Weak jealousy plus 'why don't he just talk normal'. In reality, this dude is very plain spoken with minimal tendendency toward theoretical jargoplexing. And his work speaks for itself.

was never a great painter but was swept up along with Fishcle and Longo to become extremly successful - like Schnabel who is a terrible painter and always has been. Salle is a decent collage painter, reproduces well but if you see the works in the flesh -they are pretty lifeless affairs

Agree with Carey. But now I want a cigar

I like his attitude

Thanx for suggestion!

This is all "Art Bollocks" He is a legend in his own Mind

OMG WE HAVE THE SAME OPAQUE PROJECTOR -that sucker is heavy

So nice.

tem uma postura snobe, mas o trabalho é incrível 😍

I'm pleased to see a growing distaste for postmodernism and it's priest class. Also pleased he didn't mention a "journey" or "personal truth".

i think the cigar bit is the best

I am attracted to the figures moving in space - somehow the are very imaginary - like Dream travels, glimpses of. Something that happened somewhere

The cigar lighting provoked more reaction than his actual paintings & commentary from most of you. I think that it is both an epic success for him & miss for some. It still falls into what he said about the instant reaction; yes/no/bad/good, etc.

The king’s new clothes

it so beautiful i like your pictures

All these people here commenting on "talent" and/or "lack of talent" makes me sick and depressed, and it's only indicative of how much they haven't got a clue of what contemporary art's about: what they call "talent" is just a minuscule part of this trade. "Talent" is such an overrated component. As is "liking" something (in the sense that "I like this, therefore it is good and valuable"). Personally, I am unable to admire someone just for having been born with some gift; it's like admiring a woman for being pretty. You might just enjoy looking at that beautiful woman, but you don't admire her for that reason; she is pretty in an unwittingly way, so to say, there is no merit in that. What I can admire in someone making art, is having made relevant choices, having taken brave decissions and having worked very hard, steadily and sharply, in the development of a certain vision or impulse, and to me David Salle (his petulant manners put aside) certainly seems to be that.

I too look into the camera when lighting my luxury cigars. We have a lot in common.

Immediate impact with demands. His philosophy just goes through well this era

Yes first sight impact presence giant

True. One split of a second.

What an amazing studio. He must be doin pretty good

A great artist. Much better than many 80s contemporaries.

This should have been titled "First year art student smokes cigar"

You have a calming voice. Merci🕊

i love his shit.

The smell of the cigar embedding in the canvas..

The best painting in that studio is the job someone did on that blue door.

I was like: “He lights up a giant cigar. Nope! Pause! Next!”

I played this expecting to see great paintings. My God... I get sad when I see what art has become. These days painters do not paint, they make essays. Sad times.

Did I miss something? Why are there so many negative comments?

"Same painting since I was fourteen..." It didn't get any better.

What about the paintings where you hired my painter friends at that Jersey City Sign Painting shop to do the paintings for you? Your design, granted, but it was they who could paint, not you.

Judging by the comments here, he was right about painting having immediate impact.

Corrrr blimey. A dealer's delight ! Oh, and what a load of old blarney........ Don,t lose the cigar Dave. It's the best part of your act mate.