FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Through March 28, 2009

Opening Reception:
Thursday February 19, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

What: “Oasis”, a solo exhibition by Katherine Taylor at Marcia Wood Gallery.

“Oasis”, a solo exhibition by Katherine Taylor of wistfully contemplative paintings informed by the need for renewal in a post destructive landscape.

KATHERINE TAYLOR

February 19 - March 28, 2009

In the 7 years since her debut exhibtion at Marcia Wood Gallery, Katherine Taylor has emerged as one of Atlanta’s most insightful and provocative artists. Known for powerful painting that is a tour-de-force in subtltey, Taylor consistently refers to the living landscape as the touchstone and metaphor for human experience, both individually and collectively. A key concern with the dialogue between painting and photography as it informs the context and interpretation of narrative imagery is also ever-present in Taylor’s work. Taylor again and again returns to the landscape of her origin, the coastal areas of the deep South. With poetic and wryly-philosophical inquiry she expands that core of personal experience into works that are deeply, universally resonant.

The works in the upcoming exhibition, entitled Oasis, continue to address Taylor’s concerns with the experience of time and perception. As the previous series, “Aftermath”, used imagery of the natural destruction in the wake of hurrincanes to consider the nature of loss, change and memory, the “Oasis” series as well conveys content through images of post destructive landscape. As destroyed earth renews itself, humans universally live with deep yearnings for renewal in the wake of passing time and it’s impact on all aspects of life. Taylor has identified the palm tree as an iconic symbol of hope, and the oasis to represent the mirages we dream of in difficult times. The seeming simplicity of the palm tree as a metaphor is in fact richly complex. It is also an icon of luxury, class and wealth, which are some of the most prevalent forces of modern life. Critical to humanity’s ongoing survival is the environment, and the palm tree is as well a powerful symbol of the economy of tourism, which has directly impacted the earth globally. Finally, the image of a palm tree is ingrained in our psyches as a symbol of memory - memories of vacations, freedom, paradise. The artist states that with the work in “Oasis” she is “painting a memory that is also a prophecy of the future”. Taylor washes these landscapes in the tentative palette of twilight, a gesture equally indicative of the hope of sunrise or the resignation of nightfall, and an appropriate choice to depict humanity’s state of flux and the uncertainties the future holds.