The oil paintings of David Salerno will be featured at the Kalmanson Gallery of Emanuel Arts Council for the months of November-December. Opening reception for “Together, A Portrait of Americans” will be held Thursday, November 16, from 5 to 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Salerno is an oil painter trained in classical realism. He is an instructor at Townsend Atelier in Chattanooga, TN. He has a keen interest in the technology of oil painting and utilizes only proven techniques and materials to ensure strong and stable paint layers that result in a quality, archival painting. He integrates his training with more contemporary techniques while preserving his commitment to the accuracy and quality of classical realism. He paints a wide range of subjects in landscape, still-life, figurative and portrait painting. Noticing his interest in drawing as a young boy, his artist mother started his learning with a Jon Gnagy instructional drawing set, with which he completed all the drawings. He has painted throughout his life, even during his years as a practicing cardiologist.
In Minneapolis, feeling the need for more formal training, Salerno found the local art school experience to be disappointing. He then discovered Atelier Lack. Attending night classes at the atelier, he obtained the foundation he was seeking in classical realism, including rigorous drawing and painting from casts and still-life painting. He later supplemented this training at Townsend Atelier in Chattanooga, where he focused on portrait and figure painting in the realism style. Since reducing his medical practice workload in 2012, followed by retirement from his medical career at the end of 2015, he has worked full-time on his passion for oil painting.
In 2022, he was voted into the American Artists Professional League as an Elected Artist member. In 2021, he was admitted by jury as a member in the International Guild of Realism (IGOR). In 2016, he achieved the designation of Signature Artist in the National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society (NOAPS). In addition, he is a member of the Oil Painters of America and the Portrait Society.
“There is something within that compels me to paint,” said Salerno. “The beauty that the world displays all around us calls me. We live in a stressful and complex society. I hope that my paintings can provide a source of serenity and simplification.”
This exhibition will be on display through December 29. For more information about events at the Emanuel Arts Council, find them on Facebook and Instagram.
