Al Taylor: Early Work: Sculpture and Drawing

Al Taylor, who died in 1999 at the age of 51, was inspired by literally whatever was around--from a dog stain on a Paris street to a Styrofoam float washed up on a Hawaiian beach. He saw abstract forms in quotidian detritus, creating a complex and humorous body of work consisting of paintings, drawings and sculpture, which he called "constructions." His use of simple materials like hot rolled steel, wire, Xerox toner and correction fluid was a perfect match for such subject matter. Approaching this three-dimensional work with the same balance of intensity and whimsy with which he made his drawings, Taylor willfully dismissed any distinction between the two media. In fact, he thought of his constructions as spatial drawings with a multitude of views. This fully illustrated monograph, which includes an extensive overview of Taylor's oeuvre, is published concurrently with an exhibition at Zwirner & Wirth, New York.