John D. Taylor : 'Just a Moment' 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.

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....

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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.

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.

Early in his artistic career, Taylor was deeply inspired by the free jazz of John Coltrane and his Classic Quartet. In her essay on the exhibition, Associate Curator at the University of Pennsylvania Heather Gibson Moqtaderi is witness to the influences of jazz in Taylor’s artistic process:

“Through an expressive yet intricate wielding of the chisel, Taylor’s visual language … bears comparison to jazz music. These black and white abstractions are akin to the feeling of the 1930s big band music that you might hear streaming from Taylor’s radio as he works, or the John Coltrane cassette playing in his pick-up truck.”

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.

Just a Moment is Mr. Taylor’s first solo exhibition at SAVERY Gallery.

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