Al Taylor

Al Taylor

Having begun his studio practice as a painter and draftsman, in 1985 Al Taylor (1948–1999) devised a uniquely innovative approach to process and materials that seamlessly enveloped drawings, prints, and three-dimensional objects as he created compositions that were grounded in the formal concerns of painting. Taylor ultimately sought to expand the possibilities of vision in his search for new ways of experiencing and imagining space, and his multilayered investigations of perception across variant dimensions provide the viewer with an insight into the artist’s idiosyncratic thinking, his methodology, and his playful sense of humor.

On view at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta through March 18, 2018, Al Taylor, What Are You Looking At? was the first major museum survey of the artist’s work in the United States. Curated by Michael Rooks and featuring more than 150 three-dimensional objects, drawings, and prints drawn from several of Taylor’s major series over nearly two decades, this critically acclaimed exhibition offered an in-depth look at the breadth of his artistic production.

Presented on the occasion of the High Museum survey, this Viewing Room provides an overview of Taylor’s production in a range of media and includes examples from key series, such as Latin Studies (1984–1985), Pet Stains and Puddles (1989–1992), Pass the Peas (1991), and Full Gospel Neckless (1997).

At the High Museum on Saturday, March 3, art historian Michael Semff gave a talk focusing on significant examples of the different media in which Taylor worked. Semff explored the artist’s strategies of perception and objectification, as well as his radical infringement on the traditional rules of art making. Formerly curator and director of the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung in Munich, Semff previously organized the Taylor drawing retrospective in 2006 and the Taylor print retrospective in 2010, both held at the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich.

Describing The Peabody Group (1992), one of the artist’s best-known series whose title puns on its subject matter and of which an example appears in the Viewing Room, Semff explains, “Taylor used line and color to particularly compelling effect to accord these mundane traces of canine activity an apotheosis of almost Baroque proportions, dripping ink, gouache, and, above all, watercolor onto sheets of paper on the floor, then lifting the sheets to make the liquid run across the surface. The result might be described as a ‘subtly controlled chaos’ of juxtaposed and superimposed runs, puddles, and splashes.”

Inquire about works from this past Viewing Room

Al Taylor

Untitled, c. 1982-1983
Oil and acrylic on canvas
33 1/2 x 34 inches (85.1 x 86.4 cm)
An acrylic paint on newsprint drawing by Al Taylor, titled [no title], dated circa 1985.

Al Taylor

[no title], c. 1985
Acrylic paint on newsprint
10 3/4 x 8 1/4 inches (27.3 x 21 cm)

Al Taylor

Untitled: (Latin Studies), 1985
Plywood strips with acrylic paint, and wooden broomsticks with enamel paint mounted on Formica laminate
25 x 17 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches (63.5 x 44.5 x 39.4 cm)

Al Taylor

Sunrise Over China, c. 1983-1984
Pencil, pen, watercolor, felt-tip pen, and correction fluid on paper
7 1/2 x 5 5/8 inches (19.1 x 14.3 cm)

Al Taylor

[no title], 1984
Watercolor and ink on paper
9 15/16 x 8 inches (25.2 x 20.3 cm)

Al Taylor

Untitled (Latin Study), 1985
Wooden broomsticks with enamel paint, wood, lath, acrylic, and latex paint mounted on wood with lacquer
20 3/4 x 18 x 14 1/2 inches (52.7 x 45.7 x 36.8 cm)

Al Taylor

Untitled: (Wire Instrument--Hot Tub), 1989-1990
Wood, latex paint, wood putty, and wire
43 x 39 1/2 x 23 inches (109.2 x 100.3 x 58.4 cm)

Al Taylor

Wire Instrument, 1990
Ink and wax crayon on paper
18 x 22 inches (45.7 x 55.9 cm)

Al Taylor

Untitled (Puddles), 1991-1992
Pencil, gouache, and ink on paper
19 5/8 x 14 inches (49.8 x 35.6 cm)

Al Taylor

Untitled (Puddles), 1991-1992
Pencil and gouache on paper
22 1/8 x 15 1/8 inches (56.2 x 38.4 cm)

Al Taylor

Hip Hose (Pass the Peas), 1992
Plastic hula hoops, plastic garden hose, wire, and plastic rings
43 1/4 x 35 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches (109.9 x 90.2 x 90.2 cm)
tayal0894.7-pass-the-peas-iii-split-version-1991_high

Al Taylor

Pass the Peas III (Split Version), 1991
Line etching, spit bite aquatint, and burnishing printed in black from one copper plate on Zerkall Bütten paper
22 1/2 x 17 3/4 inches (57.2 x 45.1 cm)
tayal0896.7_framed_high

Al Taylor

Hanging Puddles II, 1991
Drypoint, sugar lift aquatint, and spit bite aquatint printed in black from one copper plate on Zerkall Bütten paper
28 x 22 7/8 inches (71.1 x 58.1 cm)

Al Taylor

Hanging Puddles I, 1991
Drypoint, sugar lift aquatint, and spit bite aquatint printed in black from one copper plate on Zerkall Bütten paper
25 1/4 x 17 3/4 inches (64.1 x 45.1 cm)

Al Taylor

Rolled Greek Puddles, 1992
Gouache, ink, and correction fluid on paper
14 1/4 x 12 3/4 inches (36.2 x 32.4 cm)
tayal0897.7-pivot-1991_framed_high

Al Taylor

Pivot, 1991
Line etching, spit bite aquatint, drypoint, and burnishing printed in black from one copper plate on Hahnemühle Bütten paper
19 x 20 1/4 inches (48.3 x 51.4 cm)

Al Taylor

Untitled (Pass the Peas), c. 1991
Pencil and ink on paper
11 7/8 x 9 7/16 inches (30.2 x 24 cm)

Al Taylor

Untitled, 1993
Pencil and ink on paper
21 3/8 x 14 inches (54.3 x 35.6 cm)

Al Taylor

The Peabody Group #15, 1992
Pencil, watercolor, gouache, and ink on Lenox paper
50 x 38 inches (127 x 96.5 cm)

Al Taylor

Layson a Stick (Blue Balls), 1992
Wooden broomsticks with enamel paint, wire, and plastic leis
35 1/2 x 28 x 39 1/4 inches (90.2 x 71.1 x 99.7 cm)

Al Taylor

Cans & Hoops, 1993
Plastic hula hoops, tin cans, and plastic-coated wire
146 1/8 x 12 x 26 inches (371.2 x 30.5 x 66 cm)

Al Taylor

Untitled (100% Hawaiian) [title attributed], 1994
Graphite and gouache on paper
31 3/4 x 22 7/8 inches (80.6 x 58.1 cm)
A mixed media work on paper by Al Taylor, titled Bar Codes, dated 1993.

Al Taylor

Bar Codes, 1993
Pencil, gouache, and acrylic mica mortar with collage on paper
22 1/8 x 16 1/8 inches (56.2 x 41 cm)

Al Taylor

Untitled (Can Study), 1993
Pencil, gouache, ink, and black colored pencil on paper
26 3/4 x 19 1/2 inches (67.9 x 49.5 cm)

Al Taylor

Untitled, 1994
Pencil and gouache on paper
31 3/4 x 23 3/8 inches (80.6 x 59.4 cm)

Al Taylor

Full Gospel Neckless: Baptism, 1997
Pencil, gouache, ink, Conté crayon, China marker grease pencil, and correction fluid on Arches Aquarelle paper
20 x 14 5/8 inches (50.8 x 37.1 cm)

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