Overview
View works. Philip Taaffe, Signal, 1986
Signal, 1986
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I'm not so interested in the effort that it takes to have a self-promotional outlook. I believe in being quiet and making my work and just trying to make discoveries and let the painting evolve.

Stimulated by his travels around the world, the American artist Philip Taaffe, creates large colorful paintings incorporating enigmatic symbolism inspired by different cultures.

 

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Biography
Philip Taaffe

In my own artistic development, I see myself as moving forward but constantly looking at material I have visited in the past, and coming to terms with that, or finding new ways to allow that to come around again, to enter the works in unanticipated ways. It’s this circular thinking, always moving forward, but as a wheel moves forward, as it rotates, it comes back around again.

Philip Taaffe was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1955. He studied at the Cooper Union in New York, gaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1977. Taaffe lived for several years in Naples and traveled widely in the Middle East, India, South America, and Morocco (where he collaborated with Mohammed Mrabet on the book Chocolate Creams and Dollars). He is best known for his process-based abstractions, blending iconography, design, and art-historical motifs from multiple cultures to create densely patterned works. An admirer of Matisse’s cut-outs and of Synthetic Cubism, Taaffe borrows works and designs both by well-known artists and...
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Works
  • Philip Taaffe, Large panel with Row Ornament, 2012
    Philip Taaffe
    Large panel with Row Ornament, 2012
    Mixed Media on wood
    61 x 94 cm
    24 1/16 x 37 1/16 in
  • Port Curtis (2011)
    Philip Taaffe
    Port Curtis, 2011
    mixed media on canvas
    154 x 201.4 cm
    60 10/16 x 79 4/16 in
  • PT 2001 Study for Medallion Window
    Philip Taaffe
    Study for Medallion Window, 2011
    Mixed Media on linen
    130 x 203 x 4 cm
    51 2/16 x 79 14/16 x 1 9/16 in
  • PT-Sigiri-Totem-II-2011
    Philip Taaffe
    Sigiri Totem II, 2011
    mixed media/canvas
    229 x 160 x 4 cm
    90 2/16 x 62 15/16 x 1 9/16 in
  • PT 2010 Tabriz2
    Philip Taaffe
    Tabriz, 2010
    Mixed media on linen
    189 x 219 x 4 cm
    74 6/16 x 86 3/16 x 1 9/16 in
  • PT 2000 Biolumen-crooped
    Philip Taaffe
    Biolumen, 2000
    mixed technique on canvas
    167 x 143 cm
    65 11/16 x 56 4/16 in
  • PT 1998 Untitled
    Philip Taaffe
    Untitled, 1998
    oil on canvas
    70 x 88 cm
    27 8/16 x 34 10/16 in
  • Philip Taaffe, Signal, 1986
    Philip Taaffe
    Signal, 1986
    oil on canvas
    152.5 x 152.5 x 3.9 cm
    60 1/16 x 60 1/16 x 1 8/16 in
    framed: 156.5 x 156.5 x 5.5 cm
  • Philip Taaffe, Crucifixion, 1985
    Philip Taaffe
    Crucifixion, 1985
    Acrylic on canvas
    152.5 x 152.5 x 3.9 cm
    60 1/16 x 60 1/16 x 1 8/16 in
    Framing Dimensions: 156.5 x 156.5 x 5.5 cm
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