Al Taylor (1948-99) Drawings Retrospective in Munich

Tuesday, 25 April 2006 09:50

Munich, Germany - The Staatliche Graphische Sammlung Munich is showing for the first time in Germany a retrospective of drawings by Al Taylor (1948-1999). This is a fitting addition to the context of the past few years in which the Graphische Sammlung has presented exhibitions of works on paper by American artists such as Barry Le Va, Brice Marden, Terry Winters, Cy Twombly and Richard Artschwager, to name but a few. Taylor, born 1948, saw himself not as a sculptor but rather as a painter and draughtsman. From the early nineties onwards he became known to informed art-lovers in Europe through a series of notable exhibitions. Despite this, though, Al Taylor remained throughout his life an artist’s artist. Over a period of some 30 years he created an extraordinarily comprehensive and multi-facetted oeuvre of a highly personal nature. It was not until after his untimely death in 1999 – and especially in recent years – that his work received the recognition it deserves. Here, his drawings assume an important role alongside his three-dimensional works. "It’s really all the same to me whether I work on paper or on three-dimensional pieces. It’s all part of my work. I have no interest in separating these activities ". By explaining himself as he did, Al Taylor left no doubt that he understood his work as constantly circling around the construction of his space-related objects and simultaneously around their two-dimensional projection on paper. From the outset, Taylor was seeking to learn something he had not expected; he demanded from his works that they somehow create themselves. He wanted to find a method that allows them ... to form their own logic. Al Taylor had some three decades left to discover his own particular method and to experiment with it. What he achieved in the process distinguishes him as undoubtedly one of the outstanding artists of the late 20th century. Taylor’s artistic passion ignited largely on observing banal objects or curious situations. His works reflect his sense of the quirky-comical. His deep humor is rooted in the fact that often the most futile occasions can become the vehicle for serious investigation. There is hardly another draughtsman of his generation who commands a similar range of expression in which sensuality and discipline, energy and control are one. On exhibit until 11 June, 2006. Visit ( English Translation Available ) Pinakothek de Moderne

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