A painting by David Salle titled "Hatchet" (2025) was removed from his solo exhibition at Sprüth Magers in Los Angeles following allegations of plagiarism. Critics and social media users pointed out that the work's central figure—a woman in a black-and-white dress holding a sledgehammer—bore a striking resemblance to the 2021 painting "Impact" by artist Kelly Reemtsen. While Salle is a pioneer of the Pictures Generation known for appropriation, the gallery stated the work was withdrawn out of respect for both artists and to acknowledge the ongoing dialogue regarding authorship.
This incident highlights the evolving legal and ethical complexities of appropriation art in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith decision. The controversy is further complicated by Salle’s recent use of generative AI trained on his own oeuvre to compose new works, raising questions about how technology influences derivative creation. Legal experts suggest that despite Salle's history of borrowing from popular culture, the direct likeness between two contemporary fine artists could make a fair-use defense difficult in today's stricter copyright climate.