Collection: Philip Taaffe

Philip Taaffe (b. 1955, Elizabeth, New Jersey) is a contemporary American painter known for his richly layered works that merge historical references with modern abstraction. A graduate of the Cooper Union School of Art in New York City (BFA, 1977), Taaffe emerged in the early 1980s with a distinct visual language that draws deeply from art history, global ornamentation, and cultural motifs.

Influenced by Matisse’s cut-outs and Synthetic Cubism, Taaffe developed a postmodern approach to image-making that often involves direct dialogue with the work of other artists. In We Are Not Afraid (1985), he transforms Barnett Newman’s iconic “zip” into a dynamic spiral, a pointed response to Newman’s Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue series. Similarly, in Defiance (1986), he reinterprets optical patterns associated with Bridget Riley. This approach of homage and reinvention has become a hallmark of Taaffe’s work, placing him at the intersection of appropriation and abstraction.

Since his first solo show in New York in 1982, Taaffe has exhibited widely in major international venues, including the Carnegie International, two Sydney Biennials, and three Whitney Biennials. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (New York), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. A testament to his broad cultural reach, one of his paintings once belonged to Gianni Versace and now resides in the private collection of Elton John.

Taaffe continues to live and work in New York City, producing art that reflects his enduring interest in the visual legacy of past civilizations and the transformative power of pattern, color, and form.