SOMA NewArt GALLERY

NewArtworks NewArtspace NewArtists

HOME

PAST EXHIBITS SOMA

GALLERY

CONTACT

SEAN TAYLOR
"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" -
Solo Exhibit - June 25 to August 1, 2010

Exhibit Paintings - Contact gallery for more information and prices.
"Identity Crisis" 2010, Oil & Acrylic on Panel, 40" x 60"
"Deconstruction 1", Acrylic on Canvas, 16" x 20" SOLD
"Deconstruction 2", Acrylic on Panel, 20" x 16"
"Deconstruction 3", Acrylic On Canvas, 16" x 20"
"When Losing is Not an Option" 2010, Oil on Panels, 42" x 48" SOLD
"Making Plans" 2010, Acrylic on Panel, 21" x 21"
"Civil Unrest" 2010, Acrylic on Panel, 21' x 21"
"It's Lonely At The Top", Acrylic on Panel and Ribbon, 42" x 42"
"She liked to Play (but not by the rules)" 2010, Acrylic on Panel, 21" x 21"
"Number One-(Unfinished Painting by Numbers", Acrylic On Panel, 40" x 31"
"Be Prepared" 2010, Oil on Panels, 48" x 57"
"Heroine" Mixed Media on Panel, 20" x 16"
"The Science Patrol", Acrylic On Panel, 20" x 16"
"Ultraman Will Save Us", Oil On Panel, 16" x 20"
Action Figures, Acrylic on Canvas, 10" x 10", 11.5" x 9.5", 11.5" x 9.5" SOLD
" I Can See Right Through You", Acrylic and Pencil On Panels, 11.5" x 9.5", 11.5 x 9.5", 11.5" x 9.5" SOLD
"I'm Big In Japan", Acrylic on Panels, 9.5"x 11.5", 9.5" x 11.5", 9.5" x 11.5"

Sean Taylor
Artist Statement  - "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness"

I am optimistic. My life has prepared me for this.  I no longer feel the need to redefine myself to meet the ever-changing needs of the outside world.  In fact, I've come to believe that it may well be an illusion that the world is changing at all.  I spent a lot of time exploring the mundane, repetitious, futility of life.  If life is an exercise in futility, then that is why I embrace it even more.  Certainly life will remain as absurd as it has ever been! The paintings in "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" came from this realization- that for me, true hope could only exist once I completely understood my dilemma.

In this respect there is an air of nostalgia, but am I not still the same as I was then? Some of the paintings have been scraped down to reveal previous efforts, some have layers of paint splattered across the surface, I want to see what is below the surface and what is obscuring it. There is a mixture of innocence and the corrupt, frivolity and violence in the imagery of work.  I am interested in contradictions, for the purpose of dismantling and deconstructing them.
The work is part of my search for beauty, meaning and purpose in life, a reflection of my own history in the pursuit of happiness.


SEAN TAYLOR Resume:

SOLO EXHIBITS:
2011     "View Master" SOMA NewArt Gallery, Cape May, NJ
2010     "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" SOMA Newart Gallery, Cape May, NJ
2010    "Identity Crisis" Artist House, Phila. PA
2009    "The Art of Relaxation"  SOMA NewArt Gallery, Cape May, NJ
           "Sean Taylor Owes Me Money"  Ghostprint Gallery, Richmond, VA
2008    "Hot Fun" SOMA NewArt Gallery, Cape May, NJ.
2008    "Pre-occupation" Artists' House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA.
2007    "Polyptych" Rice Gallery, McDaniel College, Westminster, MD.
2007    "Greetings from South Jersey" Mad Batter, Cape May, NJ.
2005    Ashley Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2005    "Humpty" Mad Batter, Cape May, NJ.
2004    "Beachscapes" 931 Beach, Cape May, NJ.
2004    "Recent Work" 22 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2004    "On Vacation" and "Back to School" Mad Batter, Cape May, NJ.
2003    "Meditative Mood" Mad Batter, Cape May, NJ.
2002    "Back and Forth" Big Jar Books, Philadelphia, PA.
2001    "Well-Lighted Places" Big Jar Books, Philadelphia, PA.

GROUP EXHIBITS
2010    Red Dot Fair, New York, NY
2009    Red Dot Fair, Miami, Flordia
2008    Art Now Fair, Miami, Flordia
2007    Emerging Artist Show, Artists' House Gallery, Philadelphia. PA
2007    Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Association Juried Spring Show, Philadelphia, PA
2007    Stockley Gardens Juried Art Show, Ghent District, Norfolk, VA
2006    Park Avenue Juried Art Show, Rochester, NY
2006    Ocean Grove Juried Art Show, Ocean Grove, NJ
2006    Allentown Juried Art Show, Buffalo, NY
2006    Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia. PA
2006    Stockley Gardens. Norfolk, VA
2006    Contemporary Art Center of Virginia Juried Art Show, Virginia Beach, VA
2006    Annual Student Exhibition, PAFA. Philadelphia, PA
2005    Annual Student Exhibition, PAFA. Philadelphia, PA
2005    Columbus Avenue Juried Art Show, New York, NY
2005    Arts on the Green Juried Art Show, Fairfield, CT
2005    Ocean City Art League Annual Juried Art Show, Ocean City, NJ.
2003    The Art League Gallery, Cape May, NJ.
2002    Cape May County Art League Open Juried Show, Cape May, NJ.
2001    Fleischer Arts Memorial Juried Spring Show, Philadelphia, PA.

Awards and Grants
2006   Lance Roy Lauffer Painting Prize, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA),   Philadelphia, PA
2006   Sundollar Award, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia Juried Art Show.
2005   Richard C. Von Hess Full Year Tuition and European Travel Scholarship,PAFA, Philadelphia, PA.
2005   Jimmy C. Leuders Painting Prize, PAFA, Philadelphia, PA
2005   Don Sabbath Award, PAFA, Philadelphia, PA
2005   Susan Carlen Brown Memorial Prize, PAFA, Philadelphia, PA
2005   Michael G. Capuzzi, Jr. Memorial Endowment, PAFA, Philadelphia, PA
2005   Charles Toppan Prize for Drawing-Noncurriculum, Special Notice, PAFA
2005   Fellowship Juried Prize, Special Notice. PAFA, Philadelphia, PA.
2005   Mario Dal Fabrio Award for Excellence in Art (first prize) Fairfield, CT
2005   Purchase Prize, Ocean City Art League Annual Juried Art Show. OC, NJ
2005   First Place, Cape May Art Show, Cape May, NJ
2004   Charles Crawley Award for Landscape, Special Notice, PAFA Philadelphia, PA.
2003   Charles Crawley Award for Woodcut, Special Notice, PAFA, Philadelphia, PA.
2002   Third Place, Cape May County Art League Open Juried Show, Cape May, NJ.
2001   Honorable Mention, Fleischer Arts Memorial Juried Spring Show, Philadelphia, PA.
Lectures
"Polyptych: meaning, influence and creative process" October 30, 2007, McDaniel College,Westminster, MD (visiting artist).

Education
2002-2006 Studio Certificate Program-Painting, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA.
1997-2001 Fleischer Arts Memorial, Philadelphia, PA.
1992-1994 MA Teaching, BA History, Virginia Commonwealth University
1982-1986 BA Sociology, University of Richmond, VA



SEAN TAYLOR  - Biography
Sean Taylor was born in London in 1964. He grew up in the small college town of Swarthmore, Pa. then moved to Argentina where he finished secondary school. He cites the time he spent in Buenos Aires as life changing, and a crucial moment in the development of his world-view. Here he saw a failing military regime, strictly defined class structures, and ridiculous bureaucracy juxtaposed with a very proud, outspoken and fun-loving people.
The irony was not lost on him.
Back in the States, Taylor studied Sociology, History and Teaching, earning degrees in each subject.  In spite of these successes he experienced a lack of purpose and a desire for something more to life. He moved to Philadelphia and attended night classes at a local art foundation, where he was drawn to figurative painting. He entered the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, studying with painters Bruce Samuelson, Scott Noel and Sydney Goodman. He won several awards for painting at the Academy, including the coveted Leuders and Lauffer Awards, as well as one of the highest awards given by the school, the Richard C. Von Hess Tuition/Travel Scholarship.
Taylor lives on the Delaware Bay in Villas, NJ with his wife, artist Perianne Richmond-Taylor. Their studio is located in the wetlands Village of Grassy Sound, overlooking Hereford Inlet.