Untitled #69, woodcut, 2013. John D. Taylor, Just a Moment at SAVERY Gallery
Just a Moment, solo exhibition of new prints by John D. Taylor
at SAVERY Gallery
SAVERY Gallery proudly announces the opening of Just a Moment, a solo exhibition of new prints by John D. Taylor.
Opening Friday December 4th, 2015, the exhibition will run through January 3rd, 2016 with a reception for the artist on Friday, December 4th from 6-9 PM.
Just a Moment is a cool and lyrical display in black and white notes on paper that echo the methods wherein they are born, the hand that crafts them, and the Artist’s search for discovery in the process. In her essay on the exhibition, Associate Curator at the University of Pennsylvania Heather Gibson Moqtaderi is witness to the following:
“An undercurrent of mystery courses through ‘Just a Moment’, from Taylor’s cryptic markings to ethereal spaces that feel like windows, portals, or pathways. Untitled #69 invokes the spirit of Robert Motherwell’s Open paintings, albeit in a very different manner, with a three-sided window shape that seemingly continues beyond the page. Taylor’s “window” is all the more enigmatic when paired with the ghostly, darkly inked shape floating nearby. Through these unfamiliar spaces, Taylor leads us to uncharted territory and asks that we make our own meaning.”
Comprised of about 40 Print works framed by the Artist’s own hand in the same rich woods in which he works: ebonized poplar, mahogany and maple, this exhibition is a study in time / tempo / texture and moments. The works themselves are a conversation in contrasts between Taylor’s loose, gestural style, his expressive influences, and his meticulous printing methods. In these woodcuts, texture from the chisel and the wood grain add character to his minimalist compositions, giving lightness and depth to the shapes he creates. His work is at some times clean, almost geometric, and at other times seemingly impulsive and improvisational in its mark making.
Freed from the focus of running an edition, each of Taylor’s prints are unique: meant to capture a moment and hold it for a second until passing into the next. Having succeeded that way, the Artist must move on to the “next now”.
Untitled #24, woodcut, 2014, John D. Taylor, Just a Moment at SAVERY Gallery
John D. Taylor is an Artist, Cabinetmaker, Father, and longtime resident of West Philadelphia and Powelton Village. After studying painting at Cleveland Institute of Art in the mid 1960’s, he relocated to Philadelphia to study with Piero Dorazio and Angello Savelli at the University of Pennsylvania. He has long been integrated with the University and the Philadelphia art scene: first as a gallery preparatory at the Institute for Contemporary Art, and currently at the Arthur Ross Gallery where he has headed the installation crew for the past 30 years. He is a prolific artist, creating work in his shop and studio everyday and exhibiting most recently in his 2010 solo exhibition “Current Prints” at Art on the Avenue.
Untitled #18, woodcut, 2015, John D. Taylor, Just a Moment at SAVERY Gallery
Untitled #55, woodcut, 2015, John D. Taylor, Just a Moment at SAVERY Gallery
Just a Moment is Mr. Taylor’s first solo exhibition at SAVERY Gallery. For further questions, press inquiries, or images please contact: SAVERY GALLERY, 319 N. 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA,
Tory Savery or Caitlin Palmer 267-687-7769 or 610-547-8434 gallery@saverydesign.com www.saverygallery.com
Thank you to SAVERY Gallery for the content of this post.
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Sarah Watkins Nathan at RiTUAL Reading Room, photos by Judy Engle.
