Austyn Taylor

Austyn Taylor (b.1984, New York) began sculpting after unexpectedly discovering a stockpile of clay while teaching art at a charter school in Denver, Colorado. This chance encounter led her back to New York for an MFA in Ceramics at Alfred University, followed by an eight-year journey as a resident artist across the USA, China, Denmark, and Lebanon.

“Bright colors, strong forms, and a welcoming aura of innocence ground my practice in an optimistic realism. I am compelled to create works that carry hope, unconditional love, and a call to peace within our nature. Through clay, I sculpt animal figures that are intellectually serious yet charismatically absurd, each one a mirror of our shared vulnerability and capacity for joy. These characters form an evolving visual language that speaks in gestures of humility, humor, and humanity.

Over the past five years, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, I have exhibited across twenty-five countries, sharing sculptures that resonate across boundaries of class, age, and culture. What began as a private effort to ease existential pain has transformed into a broader act of connection. The work has become a way to meet others in good faith, to remind us that sincerity is not naïve but necessary.

Each sculpture embodies the paradox of being alive, our absurdity, our beauty, and our longing for meaning. Their playfulness invites reflection in a world preoccupied with cynicism, I aim to make objects that disarm and console, that reawaken trust in our shared humanity. My practice continues to evolve toward a unified mythos of intelligent optimism, a world where kindness and curiosity endure as the most radical forms of strength.”

- Austyn Taylor

With travel, personal loss and repetition Taylor’s practice deepened, and in the 2020s her work began gaining recognition. Her sculptures have been exhibited internationally, from Hong Kong, New York City, Los Angeles, Beirut, Paris, London, Tokyo among others. Taylor’s work merges humor, sincerity, and sculptural invention to create animal characters that embody both the absurdity and the tenderness of contemporary life.

Collections

Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, TX

Sculptureum, Auckland, New Zealand

Kamm Teapot Foundation, Sparta, NC

Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center, Skælskør, Denmark

Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China

Sonoma Ceramics, Sonoma, CA

Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, Alfred, NY

Latest solo shows

2025 ROAR, Kantor Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2023 Cookie Monster, ThinkSpace, Los Angeles, CA

2023 I WILL BE YOUR FRIEND, duo solo show, SENS Gallery, Hong Kong

2022 Rise and Shine, Août Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

2022 Soft Machine, Kantor Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2022 Austyn Taylor, Albertz Benda, Los Angeles, CA

2020 Icons of Unconditional Love & Optimism, Poet and/the Bench, Mill Valley CA

Selected latest group exhibitions

2025 PAD Paris, Daguet-Bresson Art, Paris, France

2025 Lillie Art Fair, Mazel Galerie, Brussels, Belgium

2025 Home & Nowhere, ONEsGALLERY, Boston, MA

2025 Summer in Paris, Galerie Zberro, Paris, France

2025 Super Serious, Square One Gallery, St. Louis, MO

2025 Abound, Août Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

2024 Art Jakarta, D Gallerie, Jakarta, Indonesia

2024 Art Taichung Fair, 333 Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan

2024 Jubilation, Lisa-Marie Pirker Gallery, Salzburg, Austria

2024 Vibes, Belvedere Artspace, Dubai, UAE

2023 UVNT Fair, Booth 8, Août Gallery, Madrid, Spain

2023 Art Wynwood, Booth B7, Breach Miami, Miami, FL

2023 Western Kawaii, Elephant Studio, Artox, Tokyo, Japan

2022 The End of the Road, Guy Hepner, NYC, NY

2022 Progressive Art, Galería Casa Colón, Mérida, Mexico

2022 Playground, Breach Miami, Miami, FL

2021 Emerge, Poet and/the Bench Mill Valley CA

2021 Over the River and Through the Woods, Visions West, Bozeman, MT

Residencies

2023 Resident Artist, The Most Famous Art Residency, Tucumcari, NM

2023 Resident Artist, Aout Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

2023 Resident Artist, Cider Creek Collective, Albion, CA

2022 Resident Artist, Aout Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

2019 Resident Artist/Instructor, Mendocino Art Center, Mendocino, CA

Available works