Al Taylor: Early Paintings

Trained as a painter, Al Taylor (1948-1999) is best known for his three-dimensional constructions incorporating everyday materials, such as broomsticks, hula hoops, Plexiglas, and fishing floats, as well as his related drawings and prints.

Taylor created paintings until 1985, when he began making three-dimensional works. Borrowing from disparate styles, these canvases do not fit into any one category, but rather reveal a playful tension between flatness and depth, figuration and abstraction that is wholly Taylor's own. For the poet and critic John Yau, these virtually unknown canvases are a canny response to the painterly schisms of the time. He writes, "Taylor found a way to embrace divergent and even antagonistic impulses, and build upon them; this was his way of going forward...He never sought the easy way out."

This exhibition—the first to focus exclusively on Taylor's paintings—is a rare opportunity to see a selection of works made between 1971 and 1980 which have never been shown before.

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For more information about available works contact inquiries@davidzwirner.com