Michael Taylor

Michael Taylor (born 1979) is a South African artist who lives and works in Cape Town. He studied at Stellenbosch University, where he completed his Master’s Degree in Visual Art. Primarily working in the mediums of painting and drawing, his work explores notions around narrative art, absorbing ideas from illustration and abstract representation.

Artist Statement

My work can be described as ironic, illustrative, and self-reflexive pictures. I draw comparisons between personal and cultural knowledge – themes and narratives that inform my everyday thinking. These interpretations are fundamentally concerned with image-text paradigms – the subtleties between visual thoughts and language. I look at these relationships, particularly the interplay between an image and its adjoined title, as concepts for my work. And I am always interested in working with humour and ridicule, ways of communicating that are disarming, and those aspects pointing to being simply human. It’s these elements, I believe, that will make the viewer become aware of themselves when reading the image.

Solo Exhibitions

2011

The Tenacious Tree Huggers, Whatiftheworld / Gallery, Cape Town

2010
The Lion’s Den, WorldArt Gallery, Cape Town
Comeback Boys, CO-OP, Johannesburg
Joburg Art Fair (with João Ferreira Gallery), Johannesburg

2009
The Plot Thickens, WorldArt Gallery, Cape Town
Art Amsterdam, João Ferreira Gallery, Amsterdam

2008
Prints & Editions 08, Whatiftheworld / Gallery, Cape Town

2007

Nocturnes, Whatiftheworld / Gallery, Cape Town

2006
Who framed Michael Taylor?, Whatiftheworld / Gallery, Cape Town
Title Sequence, US Gallery, Stellenbosch

Selected Group Exhibitions

2010
The Menippean Uprising, Blank Projects, Cape Town
Curren Matter, Grande Provence Gallery, Franschhoek

2009
Summer Salon, UCA Gallery, Cape Town
Angels4Good, Grande Provence Gallery, Franschhoek
Black, Blank Projects, Cape Town
A meeting, AVA Gallery, Cape Town
Subtext, US Gallery, Stellenbosch
Pigment on Paper, UCA Gallery, Cape Town

2007
Am I a Painter, ArtB Gallery, Bellville
Paper and Me, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town

2006
The most exciting drawing show ever, the KKNK, Oudtshoorn
Title Sequence, US Gallery, Stellenbosch
The Collage Show, Whatiftheworld / Gallery, Cape Town

2004
BSA L’Atelier Awards, National Exhibition, ABSA Gallery, Johannesburg (2004)
ABSA L’Atelier Awards, Regional Exhibition, ArtB Gallery, Bellville (2004)

Awards

  • Winner: 9th International Competition of Illustration Teatrio Venice, Chioggia (Italy) (2003)
  • Finalist (with special mention): 8th International Competition of Illustration Teatrio Venice, Chioggia (Italy) (2002)

Publications

  • Launch of electronic flipbook entitled The Book of Immediate Nonsense (2005)
    www.michaeltaylor.co.za
  • Launch of PRESENT magazine – An international visual culture screen-magazine (based in South Africa), serving as a vehicle for the work of
    upcoming artists and a critical voice for issues around contemporary image-making. (2005)
    www.presentmag.com