Katie Taft is a

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

based artist, photographer, and teacher. Raised in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

, she left the state for college, eventually earning her BFA at

Marylhurst University Marylhurst University was a private applied liberal arts and business university in Marylhurst, Oregon. It was among the oldest collegiate degree-granting institutions in Oregon, having awarded its first degree in 1897. Marylhurst was founded as ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

where she studied

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

. She returned to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

in 2004. Taft is best known for her ''Imaginary Friends'' series of artworks featuring hybrid creature creations photographed in various locations.

Career

Taft's work gained notice for her quirky images exhibited in the ''Repeat Offenders'' show at Singer Gallery in 2004. She began her ''Imaginary Friends'' series around the same time. In 2006, Taft was selected as a Westword MasterMind, an annual award that comes with a cash award, based on the strength of her ''Imaginary Friends'' series. In 2008, Taft was one of ten artists to create commemorative buttons for the

2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The conventi ...

. Her button depicted a donkey in a suit standing in front of the sculpture '' Articulated Wall'' by

Herbert Bayer Herbert Bayer (April 5, 1900 – September 30, 1985) was an Austrian and American graphic designer, painter, photographer, sculptor, art director, environmental and interior designer, and architect. He was instrumental in the development of the ...

, along the lines of her imaginary friends images. In 2011 she was invited to curate Flash Gallery's ''Feminine Influence'' show, which included 28 mostly Colorado based artists, each of which named women artists who influenced them. In 2012 Taft began curating the ''Action Figures'' artist discussion series.

Imaginary Friends

In the ''Imaginary Friends'' series, Taft sculpts hybrid creatures and gives them personality traits such as favorite colors, thoughts, or word associations. The resulting sculpture often merge animals and people. She then photographs her creations in the world. The figures display a range of strong emotions such as anguish, grief, and foreboding.

Exhibitions

Solo

* May 2009 – True Love, Sliding Door Gallery, Denver, Colorado * December 2007 – Friendzilla, PlatteForum, Denver, Colorado * July 2006 – Friends of Mine, Cruz Gallery, Santa Fe , New Mexico * November 2005 – Imaginary Friends V, Genuine Imitation – Portland, Oregon * October 2004 – Mes Petits Amis, Capsule @ Pod – Denver, Colorado * August 2004 – Best Friends, Ironton Gallery – Denver, Colorado * January 2004 – Imaginary Friends III, The Assembly Annex – Denver, Colorado * October 2002 – Three Dimensions, The Blue Gallery – Gearheart, Oregon

Group

* February 2011 – Ceramic Soliloquies, Abecedarian Gallery – Denver, Colorado * May 2010 -Becoming Visible: a Heads of Hydra show, Hinterland – Denver, Colorado * March 2010 – 2nd Degree of Separation, RedLine – Denver, Colorado * December 2009 – Delirium, illiterate gallery – Denver, Colorado * March 2009 – Word Works, Abecedarian Gallery – Denver, Colorado * January 2009 – Everybody Loves a Train Wreck, Art Students League – Denver, Colorado * August 2008 – Interweavings, Abecedarian Gallery – Denver, Colorado * June 2008 – Molten, Space Gallery – Denver, Colorado * April 2008 – The Simple Truth, Rule Gallery – Denver, Colorado * December 2006 – Wee – guest artist, Flash Gallery – Lakewood, Colorado * October 2006 – Random Formulas, Capsule Gallery – Denver, Colorado * April 2006 – The Food Show, Sliding Door Callery – Denver, CO * July 2005 – Photography +, Western Center for the Arts – Grand Junction, CO * May 2005 – Buff Puff, Cruz Gallery – Santa Fe, New Mexico * April 2005 – Process, Pacific Switchboard – Portland, Oregon * January 2005 – Hot Trip, Gallery Sink – Denver, Colorado * January 2005 – Debut, Flash Gallery – Lakewood, Colorado * August 2005 – Best of Gallery Sovereign, Gallery Sovereign – Boulder, Colorado * July 2004 – Plush, Capsule – Denver, Colorado * July 2004 – ZipCo, Emmanuel Gallery, Auraria Campus – Denver, Colorado * June 2004 – Repeat Offenders, Singer Gallery @ the Mizel Center for the Arts and Culture – Denver, Colorado * January 2004 – Strange Affinities, Siegfried Gallery, Ohio University – Athens, Ohio November 2003 – Potluck, The Assembly – Denver, Colorado * July 2003 – New Kids on the Block, The Assembly – Denver, Colorado * May 2003 – Gallery Sovereign – Boulder, Colorado * June 2001 – The Art Gym – Portland, Oregon * July 2000 – Red ’76 Show, Martial Arts Gallery, Portland, Oregon

References

External links

Kate Taft at Colorado Photographic Arts CenterAction Figur3s

Katie Taft (Artists Website)
*http://4art.com/profile/KatieTaft {{DEFAULTSORT:Taft, Katie Artists from Denver 1972 births Marylhurst University alumni Photographers from Colorado Living people Artists from Colorado 21st-century American women photographers 21st-century American photographers