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Al Taylor: Pet Stains, Puddles, and Full Gospel Neckless

Published by David Zwirner Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

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About The Book

Published on the occasion of the artist’s 2015 exhibition at the gallery, this catalogue presents a comprehensive examination of Taylor’s Pet Stains and Puddles, which encompass a large grouping of interconnected series that were created between 1989 and 1992; as well as works from Taylor’s later series Full Gospel Neckless (sic) that the artist made in Denmark for his 1997 solo exhibition at Galleri Tommy Lund.

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 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 multi-layered 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.

The objects and drawings that comprise these series demonstrate Taylor’s relentless curiosity about the process of seeing—that is, how we see and what we see, which he systematically explored by applying a multitude of constantly shifting points of view. The artist’s investigations combined metaphor with seemingly incongruous materials and concepts in order to find new relationships between subject matter, space, and meaning. This fully illustrated publication will feature new scholarship on Taylor’s work by Mimi Thompson.

About The Author

Product Details

  • Publisher: David Zwirner Books (April 26, 2016)
  • Length: 104 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781941701126

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Raves and Reviews

“New York’s art world institutions still haven’t recognized how good an artist Al Taylor was… What comes across in [Pet Stains, Puddles, and Full Gospel Neckless] is futility and humor, in equal, inseparable doses."

– John Yau, Hyperallergic

“Taylor’s sculptural work engages in a playful back-and-forth between literalism and illusion, figuration and abstraction, never quite settling on one or the other… His objects are modest, although no less engaging for that, offering a spare and witty meditation on the art and the act of making.”

– Jo Applin, ARTFORUM

“While [Taylor’s] abstract wall reliefs shared the same decentered qualities, his sensibility seems just as informed by Alexander Calder’s whimsy and legerdemain with color and form.”

– Staff, Time Out New York

Taylor has the “ability to create clean lines and clarity from objects otherwise overlooked for their inherent lack of beauty…”

– Catrin Davies, This Is Tomorrow

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