When Sean Taylor first unveiled his paintings at Big Jar Books in Old City, he didn’t exactly have his act together. In fact, he wound up running up the street to Artists’ House Gallery to borrow little price tag stickers.
In five short years, he’s come a long way. A full-time artist these days, he rents a freezing airplane hangar in Cape May, N.J. for his studio. And currently, Artists’ House is featuring his recent series of work, “Identity Crisis” — 23 paintings capturing what he calls an “autobiographical view of [his] American identity.” (Yes, Artists’ House still has little price tag stickers. For this show, you might find anything from $250 to $5,000 written on them.)
“Identity Crisis” is — in some ways — an expression of Taylor’s fascination with American power and how this affects our, well, identity. But he also perceives an underlining violence behind our everyday lifestyle — a secretive society where much is swept under the linoleum. “The thing about becoming an artist later on, in my 30s, is that I’ve already established a worldview,” he explains. “So a lot of the work is trying to dig into what it means to be an American. It has this apple pie sort of vibe to it, but then in same image, there will be someone working on a missile or something.”
‘Identity Crisis’
Through Jan. 30
Artists’ House Gallery
57 N. Second St., 215-923-8440
www.seantaylor.net
