Henry Taylor: B Side

Henry Taylor's retrospective at MoCA LA showcases his unique aesthetic, social vision, and experimentation, featuring portraits and allegorical tableaux that explore Black life in America at the turn of the century. His paintings on cigarette packs and found supports bring his primary medium into common culture, while his installations recode the forms and symbolisms of found materials to play upon art historical tropes and modernisms' appropriations of African or African American culture. Taylor's practice displays a deep observation of Black life in America and invites a humanist fellowship that pushes outward from the particular.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 01 November 2022
Publisher: Distributed Art Publishers

Henry Taylor's comprehensive monograph celebrates a Los Angeles artist widely appreciated for his unique aesthetic, social vision, and freewheeling experimentation. His portraits and allegorical tableaux, populated by friends, family members, strangers on the street, athletic stars, and entertainers, display flashes of familiarity in their seemingly brash compositions, which nonetheless linger in the imagination with uncanny detail. In his paintings on cigarette packs, cereal boxes, and other found supports, Taylor brings his primary medium into the realm of common culture. Similarly, the artist's installations often recode the forms and symbolisms of found materials (bleach bottles, push brooms) to play upon art historical tropes and modernisms' appropriations of African or African American culture. Taken together, the various strands of Taylor's practice display a deep observation of Black life in America at the turn of the century, while also inviting a humanist fellowship that pushes outward from the particular. Raised in Oxnard, California, Henry Taylor (born 1958) took art classes at Oxnard College in the 1980s and studied under James Jarvaise, who became a mentor. From 1984 through 1995, Henry Taylor worked as a psychiatric technician at Camarillo State Mental Hospital (a facility that is now California State University Channel Islands) while concurrently attending the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia, where he obtained his Bachelor of Fine Art degree in 1995. Taylor has had institutional solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, among others. His work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others. Taylor's work is characterized by its bold use of color, texture, and form, as well as its exploration of themes of identity, race, and social justice. His paintings often feature large-scale portraits of individuals, which are rendered in a style that is both realistic and abstract. Taylor's sculptures are also notable for their use of found materials, such as discarded furniture and metal scraps, which are transformed into abstract forms that are both beautiful and unsettling. In addition to his artistic practice, Taylor is also a passionate advocate for social justice and has been involved in numerous community-based projects. He has worked with organizations such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the California Institute of the Arts to provide art education and access to underserved communities. Taylor's work has been widely praised for its ability to connect with audiences on a deep emotional level, and he has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the Guggenheim Fellowship, the MacArthur Fellowship, and the United States Artists Fellowship. In conclusion, Henry Taylor's comprehensive monograph celebrates a Los Angeles artist widely appreciated for his unique aesthetic, social vision, and freewheeling experimentation. His portraits and allegorical tableaux, installations, and sculptures display flashes of familiarity in their seemingly brash compositions, which nonetheless linger in the imagination with uncanny detail. Taylor's bold use of color, texture, and form, as well as his exploration of themes of identity, race, and social justice, has made him a significant figure in the contemporary art world. His work is included in the collections of numerous museums and institutions, and he has been recognized with numerous awards and honors. Taylor's commitment to social justice and his ability to connect with audiences on a deep emotional level make him a valuable asset to the art community.

Weight: 1522g
Dimension: 237 x 288 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781636810560