Philip Taaffe

Overview

This book presents a comprehensive view of the work of American painter Philip Taaffe (b.1955), who has expanded the parameters of painting through his use of silkscreen, linocuts, collage, stencils, gouache, chine-collé, marbling, acrylic, enamel, watercolor, and gold leaf. Possessing many technical skills, Taaffe has moved decisively between unique pictorial inventions and repeated patterns and images, as well as overlaying divergent modes of representation, such as pattern and biomorphic abstraction. John Yau's insightful text is the first to look at every part of Taaffe's artistic development, from the works he made at Cooper Union, while a student of Hans Haacke, to the present. It pays special attention to Taaffe's acquisition of different techniques, as well as investigating his various sources of inspiration, which include the work of experimental filmmakers Maya Deren, Joseph Cornell, Stan Brakhage, Bruce Conner and Harry Smith, and the paintings of Swiss artist André Thomkins (1930-1985).

Reviews

"Yau's reappraisal shows how Taaffe has expanded what was possible in painting, incorporating a broader range of reference points and techniques as a means of breathing new life into the medium." —Isaac Nugent, Burlington Contemporary

Author Biography

John Yau is an award-winning poet, art critic and curator who has published many books of poetry, fiction and art criticism.