Alison Elizabeth Taylor (born 1972) is an American artist based out of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. She is known for her marquetry hybrid work combining

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

-style

marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case fur ...

with

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and collage to depict contemporary subject matter. Her exhibitions have been covered in ''

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'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', and ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

''.

Works and career

Taylor creates images using

which she has expanded to include painting and photographs. She subverts inlay's decorative status by constructing narratives that are neither decorative, nor memorial, nor facile, but rather freezing the abject, mundane and ordinary in time. Marquetry was first popularized under Louis XIV in the 17th century in the unprecedented luxury of Versailles. By portraying these subjects in a technique associated with opulence and privilege, the artist pays respect to the subject and challenges the expectations and connotations associated with the material. Taylor won the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition for her work ''Anthony Cuts under the Williamsburg Bridge, Morning,'' which is subsequently on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. As a result of her win, Taylor will be commissioned to portray a remarkable living American for the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. Alison Elizabeth Taylor is a graduate of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, School of the Arts.

References

1972 births Living people 21st-century American artists Columbia University School of the Arts alumni 21st-century American women artists {{US-artist-stub