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 News

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PULSE and SCOPE Fairs Slam Selfie Culture with Hello Kitties and Neon Signs

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Philip Taaffe Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Philip Taaffe (451 results)
Four Plates, from Project for Planthouse (4..., 2014

Philip Taaffe

Four Plates, from Project for Planthouse (4..., 2014

Sale Date: February 22, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1986

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1986

Sale Date: February 15, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 2011

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 2011

Sale Date: February 15, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1990

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1990

Sale Date: February 15, 2024

Auction Closed

Cataract, 1987–1988

Philip Taaffe

Cataract, 1987–1988

Sale Date: February 15, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled (two works), 2002

Philip Taaffe

Untitled (two works), 2002

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Ornamental Panel II, 2013

Philip Taaffe

Ornamental Panel II, 2013

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Figure with Excavated Crescents, 1995–1996

Philip Taaffe

Figure with Excavated Crescents, 1995–1996

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 2000

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 2000

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1982

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1982

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Triade, 2002

Philip Taaffe

Triade, 2002

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1989

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1989

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 2004

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 2004

Sale Date: October 17, 2023

Auction Closed

Written on the Bay, 1988

Philip Taaffe

Written on the Bay, 1988

Sale Date: October 17, 2023

Auction Closed

Onement, 1987

Philip Taaffe

Onement, 1987

Sale Date: October 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Rosette, 1987

Philip Taaffe

Rosette, 1987

Sale Date: October 5, 2023

Auction Closed

Crabs (Cancer Ruricola), 1997

Philip Taaffe

Crabs (Cancer Ruricola), 1997

Sale Date: September 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Madapollam, 2004

Philip Taaffe

Madapollam, 2004

Sale Date: July 27, 2023

Auction Closed

Odontomithes, 2008

Philip Taaffe

Odontomithes, 2008

Sale Date: July 18, 2023

Auction Closed

Painting with Ornamental Fragments I, 2011–2012

Philip Taaffe

Painting with Ornamental Fragments I, 2011–2012

Sale Date: July 18, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (Salmon), 1992-1999, 1992–1999

Philip Taaffe

Untitled (Salmon), 1992-1999, 1992–1999

Sale Date: January 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1986

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1986

Sale Date: July 5, 2023

Auction Closed

Painting with Row Ornament, 1998

Philip Taaffe

Painting with Row Ornament, 1998

Sale Date: July 5, 2023

Auction Closed

Timothy's Gate Transfigured, 1987

Philip Taaffe

Timothy's Gate Transfigured, 1987

Sale Date: June 29, 2023

Auction Closed

English (US)

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