An exhibition of Key West artist Sal Salinero's new oil paintings opens Monday evening, Feb. 14, at Gingerbread Square Gallery. There will be an artist's reception 6:30-9 p.m.
Sal was born in Key West of Cuban ancestry. He is a fourth generation Key Wester. As a child he was intrigued with the surrounding tropical foliage and wildlife that flourish in America's sub-tropical southernmost point.
Salinero's award winning paintings have earned him critical acclaim. His understanding of light and its various interplays with nature have earned him admittance into galleries, museums and collections all over the world.
He continues to pursue his interest in the rainfall by traveling to these regions around the globe where he photographs plant and animal species unique to the rainforest and then incorporates them into this large paintings. He views the tropical first as an integrated "organism" that is vital for the maintenance and functioning of the earth, and emphasizes that man must remember to consider himself a species, a part of the "organism," in any plan for the future of this endangered habitat. His role as an artist is to portray it visually.
Salinero was recently awarded an "Art in Public Places Commission" for the Key West International Airport. The painting of a Key West sunset features great blue herons and tangos. His work was also accepted for the first Key West Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary Florida Art held at the Key West Museum of Art & History.
Sal's paintings are devoted to beautifully and the pursuit of pleasure. They are also devoid of any psychological complexly— his paintings depict a world of beautiful birds, flowers and sun-drenched landscapes of the rain forest and tropical regions with which he is so familiar.
Gingerbread Square Gallery is located uptown at 1207 Duval St. Info: 296-8900.