In Axelle Salvage's artistic universe, each canvas opens a window where reality dances with imagination. Through surrealist imagery and symbolic storytelling, she explores human nature, often using animals as metaphorical guides — inspired by Jean de La Fontaine's timeless approach.
Her work unfolds across three distinct paths: narrative series examining societal behaviors, intimate snapshots of daily life transforming the ordinary into extraordinary, and standalone pieces capturing pure emotional states. While each path differs, they share vivid colors and dreamlike elements that invite reflection.
Whether on an expansive canvas or intimate scale, each piece sparks dialogue between art and observer. The seemingly playful and surreal elements serve as bridges into deeper contemplation of human consciousness, while fluorescent accents and bold colors create lasting impressions that resonate beyond the first encounter.
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Emotional Realms
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Tales & Whispers
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Way of Life
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Singular Moments
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Watercolor Paintings
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Emotional Realms — Tales & Whispers — Way of Life — Singular Moments — Watercolor Paintings —
Emotional Realms
This collection delves into the intangible — rendering complex emotions and abstract ideas into vivid, standalone artworks. Each piece stands as a self-sufficient world, capturing fleeting internal states and elusive psychological truths.
Employing elements of surrealism and naïve art, these paintings translate the ineffable into striking visual metaphors.
The result is an invitation to introspection, where viewers are encouraged to confront their own emotional depths through layered symbolism and poetic abstraction.
Love series
Love
Axelle Salvage’s Love explores the complexities of love through vivid imagery, emotional gestures, and a striking use of color. A central figure, a Dalmatian, and a watchful bird guide the viewer through themes of passion, heartache, and connection. The painting suggests that even in difficult moments, hope remains present.
Love II
Love II is a small acrylic painting that distills the emotional essence of the larger work Love into a quiet, contemplative moment. Through vibrant flowers, a warm yellow backdrop, and surreal floating orbs, the piece evokes the tender balance between passion and serenity.
Love III
Love III beautifully completes this triptych-like exploration of love's complexities maintaining consistent symbolic elements while shifting perspectives. It demonstrates how love's story can be viewed from different angles, each offering its own emotional resonance.
Standalone pieces
A dream's delirium
In the delicate chaos of nocturnal consciousness, this piece captures that fractured moment when thoughts spiral within dreams themselves. A figure sits caught in the turbulence of their own mind — not just between sleep and waking, but in that peculiar dream-state where consciousness stirs and thoughts begin to whirl.
Overwhelmed
This piece represents the overwhelming feeling of being surrounded and pushed from all sides when you can no longer endure it. In response, you try to protect yourself. The energy is slipping away, yet you still find the strength to maintain control of the situation.
Tales & Whispers
In this collection, each painting is a chapter in a larger narrative, weaving together interconnected tales of human behavior and society.
Echoing the allegorical style of Jean de La Fontaine — who used animals to illuminate human flaws — these works, particularly the hallmark Temptation collection, explore deeper truths about our nature through surrealist imagery.
Each piece builds upon the last, creating a visual journey that invites viewers to uncover layers of meaning and connection.
Temptation series
Temptation 1
In this first Temptation piece, a commanding brown dog in red attire stands center stage, surrounded by symbolic elements representing different aspects of desire. Strategic placement of birds and puppets creates layered narratives, while deep reds and browns against a dramatic background invite exploration of hidden meanings.
Temptation 2
In this second piece, a feminine brown dog with red eyes and floral elements represents a refined version of desire. Ethereal hands reach for birds while flowers fall, symbolizing transformation and redemption. The rich palette of reds, purples, and golds creates a mystical dialogue with its predecessor.
Temptation 3
At first glance, the viewer is confronted with an explosion of primary and fluorescent colors. The painting is intense, filled with details both in the background and the foreground. Straight lines evoke the idea of speed - an emotional exchange that builds in intensity, yet these lines don’t collide… but how long will that last?
Way of Life
SOON
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SOON —
Singular Moments
This collection embraces both standalone pieces and thematic explorations that exist in their own distinct realms.
From solitary characters frozen in time to series inspired by mythology and natural elements, each work here maintains its independence while contributing to a rich tapestry of individual narratives.
Standalone pieces
The just torment
The painting immediately captures the viewer's attention with its vivid use of color applied through splashes, sprays, and broad strokes. At once dynamic and forceful, yet strikingly static, it emphasizes the frozen intensity of the scene. The torment is palpable, amplified by the varied shades of black — one of which undulates like a reptile at the heart of the composition.
The just torment
Axelle Salvage’s Love explores the complexities of love through vivid imagery, emotional gestures, and a striking use of color. A central figure, a Dalmatian, and a watchful bird guide the viewer through themes of passion, heartache, and connection. The painting suggests that even in difficult moments, hope remains present.
Pippin
A vibrant painting featuring Pippin, the artist's signature character, also explores the duality of human nature. Behind each character, even those that appear joyful and sympathetic, both sides of human experience coexist.
Moonlight
Moonlight captures a surreal moment of shared anticipation between an elegant, Egyptian-inspired dog and a vibrant bird. Set in a dreamy cosmos with golden pillars, their contrasting reactions to an unseen event explore perception and emotion. The painting blends pastel hues and surrealism, inviting viewers into a contemplative space between reality and imagination.
Melusine series
Waterfall I
In this reimagining of Pippin, the character emerges through a cascade of emotions, set against a dynamic waterfall-inspired backdrop. The green bird figure, with its striking yellow beak and penetrating eye, captures a moment of pure joy while subtly hinting at deeper complexities.
Waterfall II
This painting captures the powerful theme of humility and resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. At its core, it portrays the idea that victory is not always reserved for the largest or most forceful, but can often be claimed by the smaller, quieter, and more subtle forces.
Waterfall III
The culminating piece of the Melusine series features Egyptian-influenced dog and bird characters immersed in an aquatic realm. Their shared gaze creates forward movement through interconnected worlds. Blue fish, pink tentacles, and orange elements establish visual threads connecting the series.
Watercolor paintings
Through delicate watercolor strokes, these animal characters echo Pippin's familiar silhouette while dancing to their own unique rhythm.
Each piece invites you into a world where these distinctive figures, shaped with the same roundness but carrying their own personality, become storytellers of unspoken emotions.
The translucent nature of watercolors brings an ethereal quality to each piece, allowing colors to blend and flow organically, creating depth and luminosity that perfectly captures the playful yet profound nature of these characters.
