Philip Taaffe (b. 1955)

Taaffe questions those artistic hierarchies that made "beauty" and "design" into late-20th century terms of avoidance. He explores and borrows from the vast historical and cultural vocabulary of ornament to further the aims of his abstract paintings. His is a process of layering and adding, rather than reducing and simplifying, by embellishing large canvases with extravagant pattern, brilliant color, and optical rhythm. Using layers of hand-printed images, Taaffe turns symbols of defense into messengers of elegance. A tsuba is a Japanese sword guard, which itself evolved from an item of utility into a status-oriented symbol. Against a field of tsuba of varying piercework motifs are added glinting coils of razor wire.