Bureau 15e

Artist Rafael Saldarriaga brings elements of his native Colombia into vivid focus by way of bright still lifes and figurative portraits with darker, more somber tones. Whether capturing a bowl of oranges with realistic clarity or depicting an otherworldly basket of apples on a table against the backdrop of dry prairie, Saldarriaga creates work with a unique essence.

Born in Medellín, Colombia, Saldarriaga graduated from the School of Urban and Architectural Design at Pontifical Bolivarian University in 1983. He began his journey to being a painter in 1984 and moved to the United States in 1993, settling in New Mexico for a couple of years. From 1994 to 1995, Saldarriaga performed live drawings at Hardwood Hoffman Studio in Albuquerque. He then relocated to Hawaii and, from 1997 to 1998, did live drawings for the Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center on Maui. 

Throughout his career, Saldarriaga has exhibited in solo and group shows, including the 1996 Sapporo International Art Festival in Japan, in which he won the Premier Prix du Public award.

After his time in Hawaii, Saldarriaga moved to New York City, where he also performed live drawings and exhibited his work from 1998 to 1999. He later moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, where he currently lives and works, creating more wonderful still lifes and surrealist figurative work.

On 1stDibs, explore a wide selection of Rafael Saldarriaga’s still life, figurative and landscape paintings.

Painting is an art form that has spanned innumerable cultures, with artists using the medium to tell stories, explore and communicate ideas and express themselves. To bring abstract, landscape and still-life paintings into your home is to celebrate and share in the long tradition of this discipline.

When we look at paintings, particularly those that originated in the past, we learn about history, other cultures and countries of the world. Like every other work of art, paintings — whether they are contemporary creations or works that were made during the 19th century — can often help us clearly see and understand the world around us in a meaningful and interesting way.

Cave walls were the canvases for what were arguably the world’s first landscape paintings, which depict natural scenery through art. Portrait paintings and drawings, which, along with sculpture, were how someone’s appearance was recorded prior to the advent of photography, are at least as old as Ancient Egypt. In the Netherlands, landscapes were a major theme for painters as early as the 1500s. Later, artists in Greece, Rome and elsewhere created vast wall paintings to decorate stately homes, churches and tombs. Today, creating a wall of art is a wonderful way to enhance your space, showcase beautiful pieces and tie an interior design together.

No matter your preference, whether you favor Post-Impressionist paintings, animal paintings, Surrealism, Pop art or another movement or specific period, arranging art on a blank wall allows you to evoke emotions in a room while also showing off your tastes and interests. A symmetrical wall arrangement may comprise a grid of four to six pieces or, for an odd number of works, a horizontal row. Asymmetrical arrangements, which may be small clusters of art or large, salon-style gallery walls, have a more collected and eclectic feel. Download the 1stDibs app, which includes a handy “View on Wall” feature that allows you to see how a particular artwork will look on a particular wall, and read about how to arrange wall art. And if you’re searching for the perfect palette for your interior design project, what better place to turn than to the art world’s masters of color?

On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive collection of paintings and other fine art for your home or office. Browse abstract paintings, portrait paintings, paintings by popular artists and more today.