An exhibit of new paintings by Sal Salinero opens at Gingerbread Square Gallery this Monday, Feb. 12, with a reception 6:30-9 p.m.
Salinero 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.
He spends summer in Boulder, Colorado, and winters in Key West. His award-winning paintings have earned him critical acclaim and his understanding of light and its various interplay's with nature have earned him admittance into galleries, museums and collections all over the world.
Salinero continues to pursue his interest in the rainforest by traveling to these regions around the globe where he photographs plant and animal species unique to the rainforest and then incorporates them into his large paintings.
He views the tropical forest 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 this "organism", in any plan for the future of this endangered habitat. His role as an artist is to portray it visually.
Salinero lovers are insatiable. Collectors of his works have them by the scores and find that each accession adds not itself alone, but also gives addition to the life of all the others. Some of the avid collectors of this artist's work have enthusiastically stated that "I cannot have too many Salineros."
Salinero recently has had paintings featured in two prestigious Colorado juried exhibits. The Colorado Open Juried Exhibit sponsored by Colorado Lawyers for the Arts in Denver, Colorado, and the Colorado Art Open, at the Foothills Art Center in Golden, Colorado.
This last summer, he was 8invited to exhibit at the Ormond Beach Museum in Ormond Beach, Florida. The exhibition was made up of popular Florida artists. He has also been asked by Concord Records in California to provide the artwork for the cover of a CD that will feature the work of a Caribbean Jazz Group. Sal has also been invited to have his artwork featured in a coffee-table book to be titled "Miami Design" that will be released July 2001.
The Salinero show runs through Feb. 18. The gallery is located at 1207 Duval St.