Philip Taaffe

Philip Taaffe is an American contemporary artist recognized for his visually exuberant, intricate work. His art is characterized by a rich array of elements, symbols, and motifs drawn from diverse cultures. Taaffe's work celebrates humanity's ritualistic impulses toward image-making, drawing inspiration from motifs such as Northwest Coast Indian masks, Islamic ornamentation, and Japanese perforated screens.

Biography of Philip Taaffe

Philip Taaffe, born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1955, studied at the Cooper Union in New York. His first solo exhibition debuted in New York in 1982. Taaffe has traveled extensively through regions including the Middle East, India, South America, and Morocco. Between 1988 and 1991, he resided and created art in Naples.

Taaffe's paintings reflect his belief that art should be a synthesis of visual forces. They incorporate various references, including Op Art, abstract artists Jackson Pollock and Robert Rauschenberg, the 1970s Pattern and Decoration movement, and 1980s appropriation art.

The artist has been featured in numerous museum exhibitions, including the Carnegie International, two Sydney Biennials, and three Whitney Biennials. His works are held in various public collections, such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.

In 2000, a retrospective of Taaffe's work was organized by the Institut Valencià d'Art Modern. This was followed by the presentation of "Carte annuvolate" (Cloud Papers) at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in San Marino, Italy, in 2004. This exhibit showcased paintings and drawings stemming from the artist's experiments with floating pigments and the paper marbling process. In 2008, the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg organized a significant retrospective titled "The Life of Forms in Art: Paintings 1980-2008," complemented by a publication from Hatje Cantz.

Philip Taaffe currently resides and works in West Cornwall, Connecticut.