Biography
Salmi grew up enjoying the bountiful lakes, streams, and wilderness areas of northeastern Minnesota. It was the lasting impressions of this environment, along with living in the desert southwest, that were to later be infused with his understanding of contemporary abstract painting in order to lay the foundations for the abstract impressions of light and form. Salmi enjoyed part of the summer at his cabin on Bear Island Lake, a place that his family has owned since 1962. He has also been inspired by visits to coastal Maine, finding inspiration from the beauty of the natural settings.
Salmi’s paintings have been exhibited throughout the United States and his work is in both private and public collections including J.L. Hubbard, LL. Bean, and Anheuser Busch, Kennebunk Savings Bank, Rochester Institute of Technology, Illinois State University, and The Quincy Art Center.
Salmi’s paintings invoke a style characterized as “Abstract Impressionism”, as they explore the reality somewhere between the physicality of a painterly surface and the suggestion of light and space somewhere beyond. The artist is inspired by summers at his cabin on Bear Island Lake, a place that his family has owned since 1962. Salmi has also been seduced by visits to coastal Maine, and takes inspiration from the beauty of the natural settings.
