biography
Philip Taaffe, born 1955 in New Jersey, is a contemporary American artist. He studied at the Cooper Union where he received his BFA in 1977. Taaffe’s working method revolves around the appropriation of works: He incorporates elements from well-known artists such as Barnett Newman and Bridget Riley as well as designs by unknown artisans. In these process-based abstractions Taaffe creates densely patterned works by melding iconography, design, art-historical motifs and personal experience. The poet Vincent Katz says of his work: „Taaffe’s paintings are built in complex layers, both technical and historical. The more one knows about his process, the more stupefying are the final results.“ His paintings are created by using different techniques and media, one can find acrylic stains, oil-based prints from linoleum blocks, scraping, scouring, photo-based silkscreen prints, collage paper elements or acrylic swirls on the canvases.
His works have been shown at various institutions such as the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Dublin), The Museum of Modern Art (New York), The Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), The Essl Museum (Vienna), and The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York).
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021
Philip Taaffe: Paintings from Five Decades, Tobias Mueller Modern Art, Zurich
2019
Philip Taaffe: The Spiral Drawings, Studio d’arte Raffaelli, Trento
2016
Philip Taaffe, Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
2015
Philip Taaffe: Writ on Water, Studio d’Arte Raffaelli, Trento
2014
Philip Taaffe: Rangavalli, Studio d’Arte Raffaelli, Trento
2013
Philip Taaffe. Die Weltsprache des Ornaments , Staatliches Museum für Kunst und Design in Nürnberg, Nuremberg
2011
Philip Taaffe. Anima Mundi, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin
2010
Philip Taaffe. Ekstasis, Gagosian Gallery, Athens
2008
Philip Taaffe. The Life of Forms, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg
2007
Philip Taaffe, Gagosian Gallery, New York
Philip Taaffe, The Portalakis Collection, Athens
2004
Philip Taaffe. Recent Paintings and Drawings, Thomas Ammann Fine Art AG, Zurich
2003
Philip Taaffe. Recent Paintings and Drawings, Thomas Ammann Fine Art AG, Zurich
2001
Philip Taaffe. Oeuvres récentes, Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, Paris
2000
Philip Taaffe, IVAM Centre del Carme, Valencia
Philip Taaffe, Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles
1999
Philip Taaffe, Gagosian Gallery, New York
1998
Philip Taaffe, Thomas Ammann Fine Art AG, Zurich
1997
Philip Taaffe, Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles
1996
Philip Taaffe, Wiener Secession, Vienna
1994
Philip Taaffe, Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles
1993
Philip Taaffe, Center for the Fine Arts, Miami
1991
Philip Taaffe, Gagosian Gallery, New York
1989
Philip Taaffe, Mary Boone Gallery, New York