Burnt orange, deep red, yellow and green colours flood the canvas in this expressive abstract painting by Noreen Taylor. The intricate tangle of short brush strokes suggests movement. Taylor’s work explores colour, form and pattern. As an artist, she is most interested in the emotion that each painting evokes. This powerful piece was inspired by a visit to the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy Ridge in France.

“Suddenly, the scene of the battle became alive, and the hillocks were not covered by verdant grasses but were now filled with soupy mud and soldiers trying to climb out to safety, sliding back down the crater’s sides, unable to get traction enough to climb out of the pit. You could almost hear the desperation.

It was Autumn and the leaves were turning, as they would have done at the time. There was so much beauty in the Autumn colours…. and so much chaos.” Noreen Taylor

Born in 1947 and raised in Toronto, Noreen Taylor acquired both her B.Ed. and a M.A. in Art History at the University of Toronto.
Taylor is a highly respected business woman, visual arts teacher and philanthropist who has helped shape art policy in the Toronto area. She has been a board member of several key arts organizations including the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Gardiner Museum. Taylor chaired the McMichael Canadian Collection of Canadian Art and was the founding Artistic Director for the Claude Watson School for the Arts. Since the 1970’s she has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows in Canada and the U.S. She has also contributed illustrations to several publications.