For over a decade, Andrew Salgado has led the contemporary figurative vanguard with paintings that defy genre convention or simple categorization. They are playful but emotive; intricate yet planar; symbolic but also direct. Although the figure remains the core aspect of his paintings, his narrative is complex and inviting, and has earned him accolades and a dedicated international following of collectors and admirers.

Salgado’s subjects are depicted in a fantastical, often ominous tableaux, with any combination of patterns and excess play upon the painted surface, including harlequin-like figures, the motif of a heavy, low-hanging moon; or other (un)recognisable representational motifs sift in and out of the composition, partially obscured or partially revealed. There are abundant references to the tradition of figurative painting, both historic and contemporary, but increasingly an affinity for themes relating to literature, nature, and the self. Reinventing himself with every successive body of work, Salgado’s practice is always surprising, technically inventive, and forever unique.