Axel Salto (1889-1961) was a Danish fine artist and ceramicist; stoneware being his material of choice. His iconic work is organic and earthy in form and palette and is incredibly tactile. In researching his pottery, I fell in love with his lino-cuts and screen-prints as well.
He was a member of the Paris-based, ‘The 4’, a group of modernist Danish artists that consisted of Salto, Karl Larsen, Svend Johansen and Vilhelm Lundstrøm.
His rarer pots can break sales records at auction; a piece realising £373,250 at Phillips, London in 2012. However, many of his limited-edition prints are far more affordable, selling for as little as £25.00.
There’s a beautifully illustrated monograph entitled, ‘Axel Salto – Master of Stoneware‘ edited by Susanne Bruhn and Pia Wirnfeldt. I could only find it for sale at CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark where the retrospective was originally held.
An equally stunning book (in Danish) covering his 2-dimensional work entitled På papir (On paper), has been written by Lars Dybdahl and is available from Strandberg Publishing.
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