Formally and stylistically the ‘paintings’ of Dirk Salz recall the work of twentieth-century masters Josef Albers, Ad Reinhardt, and to a certain extent Donald Judd. They appear to speak the same language expressing a preoccupation with color, composition, and a resolute reduction of form. However the tone of Salz’ works – comprising multiple translucent layers of pigment suspended in resin – is distinct from his modern mentors. Utilizing contemporary means and methods the artist constructs a truly visual ‘experience’ of form and color whereby our sense of the painting’s surface and apparent depth is continually challenged depending on our distance from and orientation to the artwork’s highly reflective surface.

The smooth surfaces serve as metaphorical mirrors for the viewer, mirrors that reflect the viewer’s own image within the space, and the possibilities of our relationship with it. In addition to exploring space, Salz’s works impose on us a question of temporality and the role of time in our perception of space. Time is a category that comes before space, which is necessarily more internal and allows outer space to be revealed.

Dirk Salz’s creative process is highly original. It is always aimed at challenging the viewer to deconstruct the painting and search for the original brushstroke. In short, he wants to distinguish what is real from what is merely an effect of visual refraction. At first glance, it is difficult to tell which lines, shapes, and planes of depth are part of the work and which are mere reflections. Therefore, the artist forces the viewer into movement, into looking at the work from different angles and distances, and into closer and closer observation.