Axel Salto

Axel Johannes Salto (17 November 1889 – 21 March 1961) was a Danish ceramic artist of international fame. His works also include painting, graphic design and illustrations for books, jewelry and textiles. As author and founder of the art magazine Klingen (1917–1919), Salto was also an important contributor to the art debate in Denmark.

Biography Axel Johannes Salto was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the son of H.C. Salto, married to Kamma Salto and father of Naja Salto. He graduated from Frederiksberg Latin og Realskole in 1907 and was a student of Holger Grønvold at Det tekniske Selskabs Skole from 1907. Salto then studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1909 to 1914 under Peter Rostrup Bøyesen. He made his debut as an artist in 1911. In 1916, Salto visited Paris, where he met Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. This meeting became a landmark for Salto's artistic ambitions and his influence on the pioneering ideas of the time.

Ceramics His primary career as a ceramist took off at the 1925 Paris Exhibition. Throughout the 1920s, his artistic focus shifted from painting to ceramics and he made about 3,000 different stoneware works from 1923 to 1950. A large part of these were made in the Carl Halier ceramic workshop in Frederiksberg. Among Salto's first works was the polychrome porcelain (Bing & Grøndahl, 1923–25), which was presented in the Danish Pavilion at the Paris World Exhibition in 1925. Then followed stoneware in collaboration with Carl Halier (1929–30) and Saxo ceramics (1931–32). From the mid-1930s he worked mainly with The Royal Porcelain factory in Copenhagen.

Literature Salto's Keramik (1930). Text: Axel Salto. Illustrations: Axel Salto. 130 pages. OCLC number: 62351142. Salto's Træsnit (1940). Text by Axel Salto and Paul la Cour. Illustrations: Axel Salto. 48 pages. OCLC number: 462552040. Published by A/S Det Hoffenbergske Etablissement. Den spirende Stil (1949). Text by Axel Salto. Illustrations: Axel Salto. 130 pages. OCLC number: 62351142. Published by Grafisk Cirkel. Axel Salto: Grafiker, keramiker och textilkonstnar (1949). Text by Axel Salto, Björn Lundegård, Pierre Lübecker, Nils Lindhagen, Nils Palmgren. Published by Folkrörelsernas Konstfrämjande, Stockholm.