Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Earl Taylor.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I grew up fishing, hunting and exploring nature in Charleston, SC. It wasn’t long before skateboarding and the surrounding culture became my focus and that proved to be the gateway into creativity and art. In 1995, I graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a serious appetite for producing and experimenting with most aspects of the creative process. In 2006, feeling a need to push myself further, I relocated to San Francisco where I live with my fiancé, Yvonne. I continue to strive for growth as an artist and have regular exhibitions internationally as well as stateside.
Please tell us about your art.
My current artist statement reads… The objects I produce are interrogations. They exist as curious inquiries into the ostensible dichotomy between the human animal and mutating partitions of nature. Using painting as a language, I propose mysterious, abstract narratives which are simultaneously given ground by familiar, objective imagery. Amalgamating scientific, genetic and anthropological source material, I survey and ultimately depict hybrid landscapes where diverse aspects of human physiology mesh with the origins of species. Through the merger of these methods, my exploration into the creative process develops.
What do you think about conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
Thanks to the internet and social media, It is very easy for someone to appear to be an “artist” and share their work with a larger crowd. You might say that makes things a little tricky to stand out amongst the flood, but I choose to see it as further motivation towards making things that haven’t been seen before. Committed artists will always struggle to make ends meet because they choose to focus time and energy on what is often a non lucrative activity – especially if you’re talking pay per hour. Occasionally, that commitment can spawn a professional career but there are certainly no guarantees that hard work ever pays off.
I always tell young artists asking for advice that if you can’t persevere amidst rejection, failure, and disappointment then you’ll save yourself a lot of frustration by finding another path in life. As far as I can tell, there are no insider secrets. Any success I’ve been fortunate enough to have has come from pushing myself further and further – operating with a sense that I still have a lot to learn and discover. I would say that if you find yourself liking everything about the work, you are quite possibly not making art.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Join my mailing list and find blog/news/info at : www.kevinearltaylor.com
Instagram @kevinearltaylorstudio
Galleries:
Circle Culture – Berlin
K Imperial Fine Art – San Francisco
Gallery Poulsen – Copenhagen
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.kevinearltaylor.com
- Email: info@kevinearltaylor.com
- Instagram: @kevinearltaylorstudio
Image Credit:
Winni Wintermeyer (portrait)
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