I recently had the chance to visit Baltimore artist Soledad Salame’s studio, located in her Reservoir Hill home. The third floor of the house that she shares with her husband and collaborator, Michael Koryta, is a huge, light-filled space, replete with a printing press, painting supplies, neatly organized flat file, and a library of books and catalogues.
Salame is originally from Santiago, Chile and related to Baltimore approximately twenty years ago. She exhibits her work professionally in Baltimore at Goya Contemporary Gallery, and also exhibits nationally and internationally in many art fairs and museums. Salamé received her B.A. degree in Science and Humanities in 1972 in Santiago, Chile and has been the recipient of several scholarships, awards, and grants, including the Pollock Krasner Grant.
In 2001, she created a solo environmental installation in the National Museum of Bellas Artes in Santiago, Chile, entitled “In the Labyrinth of Solitude.” From 1999 to 2000, she participated in “Latin American Still Life, Reflections of Time and Place” at the Katonah Museum of Art and El Museo del Barrio in NY. In 1995 she participated in “Latin American Women Artists, 1915 – 1995,” which travelled to the Milwaukee Museum of Art, Denver Museum of Art, Phoenix Museum of Art, Miami Art Museum, and culminated at the National Museum of Women in The Arts, Washington, DC. In 1990, she was commissioned to create the set designs for the Baltimore Opera’s production of “Carmen”.
Her work is represented in private and public collections, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, The Baltimore Museum of Art, and the University of Essex, UK. Published references include Latin Anerican Art in the Twentieth Century by Edward J. Sullivan, the St, James Guide to Hispanic Artists 2002, by Thomas Riggs, and Latin American Women Artists of the United States, 1999 by Robert Henkes.
Salame has recently starting giving printmaking workshops in her studio to limited numbers. Al Zaruba, another Baltimore artist attending the workshop and said, “Recently I took part in a wonderful new printmaking workshop in the light filled, white on white studio of the artist, Soledad Saleme, who recently had a gorgeous show at Goya Contemporary. She specializes in solar etching and monoprints and limits each class to five people- perfect for a 3-day intensive plunge into the process. Each class has had a wonderful mix of painters, photographers, jewelers, sculptors and architects.”
Zaruba also said, “My work took on a surprising new fluid organic quality; ideas arose about returning to painting, even as I’m now considering using more of my photography as a basis for solar etching. The difference between a quality gyclee print of an image- and an actual etching of the same image is enormous. Solar etching lifts the image into something more authentic, mysterious and original. The end result is a quality set of great prints, and a wealth of new ideas. Highly recommended!”
For further information about the workshops, contact Soledad by email at solsa1@verizon.net. New workshops take place the last weekend of each month. To see images from Soledad’s workshops, click here.
Below are several examples of Salame’s latest projects- light boxes, prints, and paintings. 
Light Box Paintings – creating the moving sensation of water without using video
Close up of light box painting
Amber River, painting
