The Gallery at Liggett Studio presents
MEANDER
new fiber works by Taylor Painter-Wolfe
Opening Second Friday, June 9, 5:00 - 8:00pm
And Continuing through July 7, 2023
Gallery hours after opening: THURS 5-8pm, SAT 1-5pm
Liggett Studio is a located at 314 S Kenosha, Tulsa, OK 74120
The work for the show Meander is focused in part on simplifying my compositions and experimenting with different dyeing and felting techniques. In making the felt for these pieces, my use of dye has become looser and more spontaneous, which creates interesting and unpredictable textures on the material. My aim is to emulate textures found in natural landscapes like those that can be seen on large swaths of land from a bird’s eye view as well as tiny areas of rich texture found on rocks and trees. Focusing on this element of the work allows for increased open space making compositions more gestural and less crowded. By doing this, I hope to evoke feelings frequently experienced in open spaces out in nature where visual perspective can often give way to spiritual and emotional insight.
These pieces are inspired by satellite images of various rivers throughout Oklahoma. For me rivers make for a very compelling compositional device with endless inspiration to be found in the way they wind through and carve up a landscape. With this work I have been experimenting with new techniques to evoke the feeling of moving water and differentiate the texture of the water from the texture of the land. The river is a visual reference taken from reality which then allows me to take more liberties in representing the surrounding landscape in an abstract way. Viewed from above, there are shapes and colors that are not naturally occurring, the land bares the fingerprint of human use whereas the river appears wilder and more untouched. In this work, I am exploring the tension between the natural form and beauty of the river and the stark geometry and patterns imprinted upon the land by humans.
Taylor Painter-Wolfe is a fiber artist and art teacher from Tulsa, Oklahoma. She majored in fiber art at the Kansas City Art Institute where she first learned how to make and dye felted wool. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art in 2003 and later attended The University of Washington where she earned a Master of Education in early childhood special education in 2011. Taylor now divides her time between making and showing her work and teaching art to children and adults in various arts organizations and schools throughout Oklahoma. She creates abstract landscapes made of handmade, hand-dyed felted wool using elements of texture, shape, and pattern found in nature. Her work is inspired by aerial photographs, satellite images, and her own photography of natural environments.
Some of Taylor’s most notable exhibitions and projects are “Don’t Look Down,” a 2017 solo exhibition at The Kansas City Artist Coalition and “Green Country Air,” a year-long installation at the Tulsa International Airport in 2018. She was chosen as the 2019 Holland Hall ARTworks artist and as the designer and creator of the 2021 Winter Festival pin for The Philbrook Museum of Art. In 2022 she received a Tulsa Creates Together grant through Living Arts Tulsa. She currently has an installation of her work up in The Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City, an upcoming solo show at Liggett Studios in June 2023, and her work regularly appears in group shows locally and regionally.
