In her intricate and layered digital collages, Florida photo artist Maggie Taylor creates surreal and dream-like worlds that invite each viewer’s interpretation and imagination.
Artist: Born in Cleveland, OH, Taylor moved to Florida at the age of 11. At Yale, she studied photography, philosophy and art history and received a BA in philosophy.
After earning an MFA in photography at the University of Florida in 1987, Taylor started working as an artist in Gainesville.
Studio: In her home studio in Gainesville, Taylor uses several rooms: One is for her computers. The other, for printing and matting work.
In the beginning: After about 10 years of doing still-life photography with a 4×5 camera, Taylor transitioned to using the computer and Photoshop as her primary way of working.
Art & materials: Multi-layered digital collages using Photoshop and a few other software programs. Also collected objects and old photos.
After creating the digital collages, Taylor makes archival inkjet prints as numbered limited editions in a variety of sizes ($1700 to $12,000).
What’s popular:
- Still-life images filled with whimsy, flowers and butterflies.
- Images of people in strange settings. And occasionally a landscape of sorts.
Favorite or must have tools: Photoshop, iPhone, a Mac computer and a Wacom tablet because “I love the pen instead of a mouse.”
Inspirations:
- Paintings from the 1200s to the 1800s.
- Anything surreal.
- Old circus banners.
- Antique photographic images, especially daguerreotypes, which are detailed, one-of-a-kind photographic images on a highly polished, silver-plated sheet of copper, sensitized with iodine vapors.
Memorable project: A series of illustrations for both “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-glass” by Lewis Carroll.
Current project: Exploring lots of AI, using text and Taylor’s own images to produce all kinds of little things for her collages on a site called Midjourney.com. “I love it,” Taylor said.
Current show: Group exhibition, “Collected: Connecting Past, Present and Future Acquisitions” at the Southeast Museum of Photography in Daytona Beach, FL. Through Feb. 22.
What’s next:
- Exhibiting with Catherine Couturier Gallery at the AIPAD Photography Show in NYC. April 23-27.
- Solo show at Slate Gray Gallery in Telluride, CO. Opening July 3.
Where to buy: Maggietaylor.com and galleries throughout the world and in the United States, including:
- Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans, LA.
- Bennett Galleries, Knoxville and Nashville, TN.
- Catherine Couturier Gallery, Houston, TX.
Connect:
- Instagram: @maggietaylor.art
- Facebook: MaggieTaylorArtist
