Tommy Taylor discusses Some Sort of Solitude

• JOEFF DAVIS
• Tommy Taylor’s work in Whitespace

On Wednesday, Tommy Taylor will be discussing his latest body of paintings, Some Sort of Solitude, at Whitespace Gallery. There are plenty of reasons to drop in for that, not least of which being that Taylor’s new body of work is a fine example of a painter pushing his limits.

The abstract, intuitive style that Taylor explored in previous paintings (like the large, amoeba-like mural on Elizabeth St. commissioned by Four Coats) is still apparent in the paintings of Some Sort of Solitude, but only as an element of the work. The paintings are often grounded by photo-realistic scenes, sometimes from what appears to be mid-century family snapshots and other times from pornography. Cartoon characters like Popeye and Brutusor or Br’er Fox and Br’er Rabbit make appearances, often stretched into a disorienting flatness. Then there are Taylor’s recognizable brush strokes, weaving their way across these paintings like the connective tissue for all of this psychic energy.