Ross Taylor lives and works in the Macedon Ranges, a vast region of Central Victoria, Australia known for its wild terrains and expansive forests. Much of Taylor’s recent artistic practice is influenced by this epic landscape, one that wildly conflicts with his previous environment in the north of England, and is also a marked change to some of his earlier work. Taylor’s work plays with the ancient and the every day, the sacred and the banal, with extraordinary use of colour that captivates the viewer.
The artist is intrigued by memory and how one can recall or retell an experience, whether that be what we conjure up in our minds or that which he, as a painter, evokes for the viewer. Taylor states that he “tries to convey what I can see in front of me, but also what is behind me and what I cannot see”. There is vivid luminosity in each piece and the carefully considered colours present to the viewer work that is drenched in vibrancy, yet still visible are aspects of a somewhat dark and desolate scene left by bushfires that ripped through the region just over half a decade ago.
Taylor’s work seeks to respond to the complexity of an ever-changing landscape, and in particular, the way in which nature can evolve and regenerate itself after such events. These contrasting images coalesce on canvas to create original yet incredibly beautiful and visually stunning depictions of one’s surroundings.
EDUCATION
2001-2005 BA (Hons) Fine Art, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne
2003-2004 Academie De Bildenden Kunste, Munich, Germany
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Solo show, Alexander Berggruen, New York. USA
2024 Losing track, Scott Miller projects, Alabama, USA
2022 Time Of The Season, Beers London, London, UK
2021 Northern Romantic, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2020 Field Notes, Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, Australia
2019 A Foreign Affair, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2017 Manor Walks, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne,Australia
2017 Eurovision, Neospace, Melbourne, Australia
2016 Pleasure Business, The Alderman, Melbourne, Australia
2015 Twice the first time, Stockroom, Melbourne, Australia
2012 Phatland, C3, Melbourne, Australia
2012 Phatland, Stockroom, Melbourne, Australia
2009 I Knew She’d Be Back. Seventh Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2008 Move Any Mountain, Project Slogan, Aberdeen, Scotland
2006 Ross Paul Taylor, Art Space Tetra, Fukuoka, Japan
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Group Show, Galerie Isa, Mumbai, India,
2024 Group Show "walking along colorful paths" VILLAZAN, Madrid, Spain
2023 Alexander Berggruen at Dallas art fair, USA
2022 The Natural World: Part 2, Alexander Berggruen, New York, USA
2022 Fun Gal Gro Up Sho, SADE Los Angeles, USA
2021 When Woods We Pass, Scott Miller Projects, Alabama, USA
2021 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, Hong Kong
2021 Making Paradise, Aga Khan, London, England
2020 Spring, Sophie Gannon Gallery,Melbourne, Australia
2019 Lyn Mccrea Drawing Prize, Noosa Gallery, Australia
2019 Summer Group Exhibition, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2018 Grammar Of Glitch, Latrobe Art Institute, Bendigo, Australia
2018 Sunshine Coast Prize, Caloundra Regional Gallery, Queensland, Australia
2018 Paul Guest Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, Australia
2017 Sydney Contemporary, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2017 Surface, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2017 Technicians Choice, Bundoora Homestead, Melbourne, Australia
2016 John Leslie Art Prize, Gippsland Art Gallery, Australia
2016 Belonging To The Night, Stockroom, Melbourne, Australia
2016 A Possible World, Sawtooth, Tasmania
2014 Deep Time, TCB, Melbourne, Australia
2011 The Rest Is Silence, Death Be Kind, Melbourne, Australia
2011 Need To Seem To Glimpse, C3, Melbourne, Australia
2010 Fear Of A Tech Planet, C3, Melbourne, Australia
2010 Short Stories, Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne, Australia
2007 Private Prop, Residence Gallery, London, England
2007 Showcase, Xsite Architecture, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
2006 Give Them Enough Rope, Projection Gallery, Liverpool, England
(Liverpool independents, coinciding with the Liverpool Biennial)
2006 Front Door, Back Gate, Hatton Gallery, Newcastle Upon Tyne
2006 Normalife Unlimited, Neal’s Yard, Carnaby Street, London, England
2005 Fields of Vision: Extremes, Institute of New Media, Frankfurt, Germany
2005 Artfayre, Waygood Gallery, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
2005 Home, Normalife Gallery, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
2004 Gamut, Globe Gallery, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
2004 Explosion2! , Pasinger Fabrik, Munich, Germany
2003 BLEND, Normalife gallery, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
AWARDS / PRIZES
2022 Len Fox painting prize (finalist)
2021 Sovereign Asian Art Prize (Finalist)
2019 Lyn Mccrea Drawing Prize (finalist)
2018 Perimeter Book Prize (shortlisted)
2018 Paul Guest Prize (finalist)
2018 Sunshine Coast Prize (finalist)
2016 John Leslie art prize (finalist)
2006 Mackellar Architecture, Artist Placement Award
2006 Arts Council England, Travel Grant for the Arts - Fukuoka, Japan
RESIDENCIES
2006 What’s Missing? Initiatives, Globe Gallery, North Shields, England
2006 Ross Paul Taylor, Art Space Tetra, Fukuoka, Japan
COMMISSIONS
2007 I knew she’d be back, DVD, Commissioned by Arts Council England
COLLECTIONS
Bendigo Art Gallery
Ballarat Art Gallery
Horsham Art Gallery
Collection of Howard Rachofsky, Dallas
Private collections Globally
PUBLICATIONS
2022 The Natural World, 2022, Alexander Berggruen, Kirsten Cave
2022 Art Collector, issue 99, New Directions, Courtney Kidd, January 2022
2021 Sovereign Asian Art prize, Spotlight On Ross Taylor, Shaarbek Amankul, May 2021
2021 Contemporary Art Collectors, Ross Taylor, March 2021
2020 Bendigo Magazine, Field Of Colours, Emma Busowsky Cox,issue 59, May 2020
2020 The Age, Artists In The Time Of Covid Mikey Cahill, 12th April 20202
2020 Artshub, Art As Recovery, Sabine Brix, 27th March 2020
2019 Vault Magazine, A Holiday In Dystopia, Dr. Kent Wilson, Issue 27 July 2019
2019 Art Collector, A Foreign Affair-Ross Taylor, 26th July 2019
2019 Design Files, A Foreign Affair with Ross Taylor, 23rd July 2019
2018 Bendigo Advertiser, Art/Institute bringing Bendigo the best, July 27th 2018
2018 The Grammar Of Glitch, Bendigo Weekly, August 2nd 2018
2017 Manor Walks, written by Clare Needham
2012 The Rest Is Silence, Death And The Skull In Contemporary Art
REVIEWS
2018 Artshub Review:Paul Guest Prize, Paul Isbel, August 2nd, 2018
2014 Deep Time, Dan Rule - The Age, August 8th
