Andrew Salgado’s paintings have evolved greatly in style since the large-scale, painterly portraits he began painting about a decade ago, where large swathes of colour played across the surface to define his subjects. In his most recent work – the representational has given way to the more abstract. Now colourful, symbolic, and compositional elements are the driving force of the painted image, but a complex interweaving of figures remain a common thread. Today his subjects are depicted in a fantastical, often ominous tableaux, with any combination of patterns, abundance, and excess play upon the painted surface, including harlequin-like figures, the motif of a heavy, low-hanging moon; or other unrecognisable figurative shapes sift in and out of the composition, partially obscured or partially revealed. Where there once was a desire to place the figure at the forefront of the image, now there is a kind of harmonious cacophony that creates a sort of chaotically orchestrated puzzle. There are abundant references to the tradition of figurative painting both historic and contemporary: Matisse, Gauguin, and Bacon are all readily recalled; while contemporary greats like Tal R, Daniel Richter, and Peter Doig are also referenced with equal reverie and respect – often like quiet in-jokes for a viewer to catch.

ANDREW SALGADO (b. 1982, Canada) holds an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art (2009), and is widely regarded as one of the leading figurative painters of his generation. He has exhibited worldwide, with solo exhibitions in London, New York, Tokyo, Miami, Toronto, Cape Town, and throughout Europe; as well as his most recent solo exhibition - Good Things - with PIERMARQ Gallery in Sydney, Australia (April 2023). 

In 2017, Salgado was the youngest artist ever to receive a survey exhibition at The Canadian High Commission in London. He has received extensive press both online and in print, and he frequently donates to charities and is a frequent advocate for LGBT causes. His works have successfully entered the secondary market with prices frequently doubling their estimates, including a piece at Phillips New York selling for five times its estimate in June 2021.

His works have been collected extensively, including The Oketa Collection, The Royal Bank of Canada Collection, The Masahiro Maki Collection, The Government of Canada, The Jordanian Royal Family, Simmons & Simmons, the Esquinazi Collection, Edwin Oostmeier Collection, and more.

He lives and works in London, England.