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)
CHARTERHOUSE, 1993–1994

Philip Taaffe

CHARTERHOUSE, 1993–1994

Sale Date: May 15, 2015

Auction Closed

Thera, 2003

Philip Taaffe

Thera, 2003

Sale Date: March 21, 2015

Auction Closed

Stamen, 2004

Philip Taaffe

Stamen, 2004

Sale Date: November 27, 2014

Auction Closed

Composition with Ornamental Fragments II, 1998

Philip Taaffe

Composition with Ornamental Fragments II, 1998

Sale Date: November 14, 2014

Auction Closed

Totem, 1989

Philip Taaffe

Totem, 1989

Sale Date: October 12, 2014

Auction Closed

Pipistrellus, 2007

Philip Taaffe

Pipistrellus, 2007

Sale Date: July 31, 2014

Auction Closed

Melting Head, 2004

Philip Taaffe

Melting Head, 2004

Sale Date: September 16, 2014

Auction Closed

Senza titolo, 2002

Philip Taaffe

Senza titolo, 2002

Sale Date: July 12, 2014

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1989

Philip Taaffe

Ohne Titel, 1989

Sale Date: June 25, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1995

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1995

Sale Date: February 27, 2014

Auction Closed

Bassam, 2005

Philip Taaffe

Bassam, 2005

Sale Date: January 14, 2014

Auction Closed

Bahia Bagdad, 1989

Philip Taaffe

Bahia Bagdad, 1989

Sale Date: December 11, 2013

Auction Closed

Flare, 2003

Philip Taaffe

Flare, 2003

Sale Date: December 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Long, Deep-Sea Toothy Fish (Chauliodus..., 1997

Philip Taaffe

Long, Deep-Sea Toothy Fish (Chauliodus..., 1997

Sale Date: November 25, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1998

Philip Taaffe

Untitled, 1998

Sale Date: November 12, 2013

Auction Closed

Entrance with palms, 1996

Philip Taaffe

Entrance with palms, 1996

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Anuradhapura, 2004

Philip Taaffe

Anuradhapura, 2004

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Capella Palatina (in 2 parts), 2004

Philip Taaffe

Capella Palatina (in 2 parts), 2004

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Flare, 2003

Philip Taaffe

Flare, 2003

Sale Date: October 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Senza titolo, 2002

Philip Taaffe

Senza titolo, 2002

Sale Date: November 30, 2013

Auction Closed

Pará, 1988

Philip Taaffe

Pará, 1988

Sale Date: September 25, 2013

Auction Closed

Lineament Monotypes, 1990

Philip Taaffe

Lineament Monotypes, 1990

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Bassam, 2005

Philip Taaffe

Bassam, 2005

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Senza titolo, 1989

Philip Taaffe

Senza titolo, 1989

Sale Date: September 28, 2013

Auction Closed