ANDREW TAYLOR - OUTSIDE
Andrew Taylor is clever in his work, no denying that. He knows
exactly how a mark that lasts is made. Yet the subject is subtly
elusive. And the moment is pure elastic. "How to make something
slow about something as fast as a moment is my obsession," he says.
Looking hard at these paintings gentle zephyrs appear in the
recesses of my retina, from the power of dreams in Redon, to the
physicality of flora in Kiefer, and the enigmatic multi focal lens
of Polke.
The body of work in OUTSIDE celebrates the process of creating a
metalanguage that provides the freedom to challenge both our seeing
and knowing, the certainty of our equilibrium and the veracity of
our sight. And yet there is no trace of cynicism, nihilism or
despair. Rather the wonder at what is still accessible in this new
millennium, despite the often disastrous inroads of industrial
development, the commercial commodification of ideas and
technological appropriation of the senses, seems to be a driving
force behind these vibrant, luminous and often celebratory
paintings.
"I suppose the show is all about the things we look through when
we think we should be looking somewhere else. This may be some kind
of obtuse metaphor for being in Los Angeles." No matter where
Andrew Taylor lives I feel he will be driven to produce images that
gradually draw us into the recesses of an opulent universal visual
memory that is outside both time and place.
And yet place does matter, as I can't help sensing a dark touch
of David Lynch and Blue Velvet, and maybe even deadly nightshade
hiding amidst the glorious fields of colour and deliciously
constructed images of nature that reflect our ephemeral
existence.
Nick Waterlow
Andy in his studio (photos:Van Nuys 2008)
