Kelly Reemtsen Sues David Salle Over Alleged Copying in AI-Linked Painting
A federal copyright lawsuit filed by American artist Kelly Reemtsen (b. 1967) has put David Salle’s 2025 painting Hatchet at the center of a dispute over authorship, appropriation, and artificial intelligence. The complaint, filed June 22 in the US District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that Salle copied protected elements from two of Reemtsen’s works, Impact and It’s All Black and White.
Reemtsen says the similarities go beyond a passing visual echo. According to the complaint, Hatchet repeats the pose, perspective, clothing, and overall effect of her paintings, with the main difference being the weapon in the subject’s hand. In Impact, the woman wears a black-and-white striped dress and holds a sledgehammer. In It’s All Black and White, the figure brandishes an axe.
The lawsuit seeks damages, Salle’s profits from Hatchet, and an injunction preventing the work from being sold or exhibited. Reemtsen is also asking the court to order that the painting be turned over to her or destroyed.
Hatchet first appeared publicly in My Frankenstein, Salle’s exhibition at Sprüth Magers Los Angeles, which opened February 24. The oil-and-acrylic work was created in part with the aid of artificial intelligence. Salle has recently worked with an engineer to develop a generative AI model trained on his own oeuvre, feeding it selections from earlier works to generate new image configurations.
The controversy gathered momentum after social media users began comparing Hatchet with Reemtsen’s 2021 painting Impact. Reemtsen’s complaint also cites an email Salle allegedly sent her in March, after the dispute became public. In it, he reportedly referred to “internet chatter” about a painting of his that incorporated an image from one of her works and said he had found her work online and admired it. Reemtsen argues that the message amounts to an admission of copying.
The filing further claims the dispute damaged her professional relationships and diverted time and attention from her own work. Her attorney, Matthew Swanlund, said the lawsuit is intended to protect the integrity of Reemtsen’s original artworks and the rights artists hold under federal copyright law. Sprüth Magers is not a defendant in the case and declined to comment.
