Philip Taaffe

(American, born 1955)

Philip Taaffe is a contemporary American artist best known for his process-based abstractions. Melding iconography, design, art-historical motifs, and personal experience, he creates densely patterned works. “Taaffe’s paintings are built in complex layers, both technical and historical. The more one knows about his process, the more stupefying are the final results,” the poet Vincent Katz said of his work. “Each painting is an amalgam of different techniques and media—oil paint transferred from cardboard forms, acrylic stains, oil-based prints from linoleum blocks, scraping, scouring, photo-based silkscreen prints, collaged paper elements, and most recently, spooned acrylic swirls, and intricately cut and applied sheets of gold leaf.” Taaffe's practice revolves around the appropriation of works both by well-known artists, including Barnett Newman and Bridget Riley, and designs by anonymous artisans. Born in 1955 in Elizabeth, NJ, he studied at the Cooper Union, receiving his BFA in 1977. The artist’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions worldwide, including at Luhring Augustine in Brooklyn, the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris, and numerous others. Taaffe currently lives and works between New York, NY and West Cornwall, CT. His works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Reina Sofia in Madrid.

Philip Taaffe Artworks

Philip Taaffe (451 results)
Bad seed, 1996–1996

Philip Taaffe

Bad seed, 1996–1996

Sale Date: November 17, 2000

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1983–1983

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1983–1983

Sale Date: October 26, 2000

Auction Closed

Radiant study, 1988–1989

Philip Taaffe

Radiant study, 1988–1989

Sale Date: October 26, 2000

Auction Closed

Quadro Vesuviano, 1988–1988

Philip Taaffe

Quadro Vesuviano, 1988–1988

Sale Date: June 29, 2000

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1990–1995

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1990–1995

Sale Date: May 17, 2000

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1986–1986

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1986–1986

Sale Date: December 8, 1999

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1990–1990

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1990–1990

Sale Date: November 16, 1999

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1986–1986

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1986–1986

Sale Date: November 10, 1999

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1994–1994

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1994–1994

Sale Date: November 10, 1999

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1995–1995

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1995–1995

Sale Date: November 10, 1999

Auction Closed

Tsuba colony
, 1994–1995

Philip Taaffe

Tsuba colony , 1994–1995

Sale Date: May 19, 1999

Auction Closed

Anthology II, 1991–1992

Philip Taaffe

Anthology II, 1991–1992

Sale Date: November 18, 1998

Auction Closed

Siamese leaves with 16-pointed stars II, 1991–1992

Philip Taaffe

Siamese leaves with 16-pointed stars II, 1991–1992

Sale Date: October 8, 1998

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1996–1996

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1996–1996

Sale Date: June 4, 1998

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1986–1986

Philip Taaffe

Ohne Titel, 1986–1986

Sale Date: April 21, 1998

Auction Closed

Blumen, 1995–1995

Philip Taaffe

Blumen, 1995–1995

Sale Date: November 21, 1997

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1986–1986

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1986–1986

Sale Date: November 7, 1997

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1987

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1987

Sale Date: May 29, 1997

Auction Closed

Blumenstück, 1995

Philip Taaffe

Blumenstück, 1995

Sale Date: May 23, 1997

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1988

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1988

Sale Date: May 6, 1997

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1986

Philip Taaffe

Ohne Titel, 1986

Sale Date: April 23, 1997

Auction Closed

Double cell from Cinema Posillipo, 1991–1993

Philip Taaffe

Double cell from Cinema Posillipo, 1991–1993

Sale Date: May 8, 1996

Auction Closed

Ginostra flowers, 1993

Philip Taaffe

Ginostra flowers, 1993

Sale Date: May 7, 1996

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1995

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1995

Sale Date: May 7, 1996

Auction Closed