Although he began his studio practice as a painter, in 1985, 

 (1948-1999) devised a unique and innovative approach to process and materials that encompassed two-dimensional works on paper and three-dimensional objects. Moving fluidly between media, he sought to expand the possibilities of vision by exploring new ways of experiencing and imagining space. His sculptures, which he thought of as "tools for vision," were usually fashioned out of unconventional materials, often employing humble and sometimes humorous elements. As he later wrote, though he moved away from painting in a traditional sense, the perspectival effects made possible by the medium continued to inform his practice: "This work isn’t at all about sculptural concerns; it comes from a flatter set of traditions. What I am really after is finding a way to make a group of drawings that you can look around. Like a pool player, I want to have all the angles covered."

Taylor was born in Springfield, Missouri, and received a B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1970. He moved to New York later that year, where he would continue to live and work until his death, in 1999. His first solo exhibition took place in 1986 at the Alfred Kren Gallery in New York. His work would go on to be shown in numerous exhibitions in America and Europe, including solo exhibitions at the Kunsthalle Bern (1992) and the Kunstmuseum Luzern (1999), both in Switzerland.

A retrospective of Taylor’s drawings was organized posthumously by the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung at the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, in 2006. A retrospective of the artist’s prints opened at the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, in September 2010, and traveled to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark, in Spring 2011. The Santa Monica Museum of Art, California, presented a focused overview of two bodies of work by the artist, 

, in 2011. In 2013, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta mounted the exhibition 

Drawing Instruments: Al Taylor's Bat Parts and Endcuts. 

In 2014, The Philip Johnson Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, presented

, curated by Robert Storr. A major survey of the artist's work was presented at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta in 2017-2018. 

 was on view at The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, in 2020.

Work by the artist is represented in a number of prominent public collections, including the British Museum, London; Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Glenstone Museum, Potomac, Maryland; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The Morgan Library & Museum, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, among others.

The Estate of Al Taylor has been represented by David Zwirner since 2007. 

, which was on view at the gallery’s Hong Kong location in 2022, marked the eighth solo exhibition of the artist’s work, following on: 

Pet Stains, Puddles, and Full Gospel Neckless

Al Taylor: A / LOW / HA, The Hawaiian Works

Al Taylor, unpublished artist's statement, July 1990.

Mimi Thompson is a writer living in New York and Miami. A contributing editor to 

, she has interviewed artists Roni Horn and Judy Pfaff, among many others. Most recently, she has contributed catalogue essays on the work of artists Keith Haring, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jane Wilson for museum and gallery exhibitions.

Mimi Thompson

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.

Published on the occasion of the artist’s 2015 exhibition at the gallery, this catalogue presents a comprehensive examination of Taylor’s 

, which encompass a large grouping of interconnected series that were created between 1989 and 1992; as well as works from Taylor’s later series 

 (sic) that the artist made in Denmark for his 1997 solo exhibition at Galleri Tommy Lund. 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.

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

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

David Zwirner is an art gallery with locations in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Hong Kong. We present physical and online exhibitions, podcasts, books, and more.