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Rodney Taylor (born 1966, US), Untitled (Birch Trees), 2010. Mixed-media on paper, 144" x 114" (365.8 x 289.6 cm). Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY. © 2017 Rodney Taylor. (AK-2810) |
Meet my new “find”:
the awesome painter Rodney Taylor. As a Virgo, I do not routinely paint totally
from memory. While a memory can evoke very specific imagery, it is often
affected by emotional coloring that distracts me from establishing an image of
the place that is somewhat recognizable. (I’m basically a landscape painter.) I
certainly can, however, attest to the strong feelings place can play in a work
of art. I think memory and place combine in the work of Rodney Taylor.
Born in Buffalo, New York, Taylor moved to New York City, where
he lived and worked for 16 years. He studied at the Cooper Union, Fashion
Institute of Technology, Bard Annandale-on-Hudson, and the Skowhegan School of Painting
and Sculpture. A large part of Taylor’s work is heavily impasto impressions of
elements of urban life and decay. He also often combines
images of trees with his architectural imagery. The tree image also appears
individually in his paintings.
Although many of Taylor’s paintings address urban imagery
and symbolism, his paintings of birch trees stem from personal reminiscences.
They recall memories of trips with his family to Maryland for family reunions.
The birch trees represent his remembered views of trees flashing by the car.
Taylor’s more recent work
has taken a decidedly abstract turn and a more muted palette. These works seem
to be influenced by urban architecture.
Correlations to Davis
programs: Explorations in Art Grade 2: 1.1; Explorations in Art Grade 4:
1.6, 6.34; Explorations in Art Grade 6: 5.26
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