Artist Statement:
Art is a record of presence—a reflection of where we have been, the emotions we carry, and the moments that shape us. While my practice began as a way to give voice to my pain, it has evolved into a recognition of resilience. Through it, I navigate life’s opposing forces—the sorrow that engulfs us and the beauty that sustains us.
Working across printmaking, collage, ceramics, and textiles, I move fluidly between abstraction and narrative, examining these cycles of loss and renewal. I am drawn to the expressive potential of line, layering tangled marks through both indirect printmaking and direct gestures to develop an abstract visual language of emotion and memory. In my narrative work, I incorporate recurring symbols and the female form to deepen these themes.
I seek to capture the tensions beneath the surface—overwhelm and release, chaos and control, fragility and resilience. Each piece becomes both a marker of my own understanding and a reflection on how we move through shifting emotional states. I hope my art creates a sense of emotional resonance, offering a space for reflection and empathy so that we all feel less alone in our journey through life.
Education
2024 MFA Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA
2017 - 2019 Studied art at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
1996 BS magna cum laude, psychology, John Brown University, Siloam Springs, AR
Selected Solo/Two-Person Exhibitions
2025 Acts of Letting Go, The Grand Bohemian Art Gallery, Greenville, SC
2025 Echoes of Memory, The Emporium Center, Knoxville, TN
2024 Through Lines, Fischman Gallery, Johnson City, TN
2024 Thesis Exhibition: Above and Below, Anne Bryan Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2022 Remade, The Arts Depot, Abingdon, VA
2022 Control and Release, Watauga Brewing Company, Johnson City, TN
2021 Unfolding, One Acre Café, Johnson City, TN
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 Generate, Jocelyn Matthews, 123 West Main Gallery, Johnson City, TN
2025 Thinking Through the Lens of Mixed Media, Slocumb Gallery at ETSU, Johnson City, TN
2025 Dogwood Arts Regional Exhibition, Lindsey Rogers, Dogwood Gallery, Knoxville, TN
2025 Held Together: Fragility & Endurance in Art, Visionary Art Collective, New York
2025 Layered Influence, The Reece Museum, Johnson City, TN
2025 Thinking Through the Lens of Mixed Media, Fischman Gallery, Johnson City, TN
2024 The Fletcher Exhibit, Meaghan Dee, The Reece Museum, Johnson City, TN
2024 Written in Real Time, Eat Art Space, Johnson City, TN
2024 Converge, Dr. Brittany Webb, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2024 Appalachian Art Show, Stephen Wicks, Renaissance Center Gallery, Kingsport, TN
2024 Curiosity in Winter, The Grand Bohemian Gallery, Greenville, SC
2024 Arts and Culture Alliance National Juried Exhibition, Sisavanh Houghton, The Emporium Center, Knoxville, TN
2024 Johnson City Public Art Banner Exhibition, Johnson City, TN
2023 Brighter Than the Fire Around Me, Fischman Gallery, Johnson City, TN
2023 Holiday Salon Show, Galerie Tangerine, Nashville, TN
2023 Nocturne Nouveau, Fischman Gallery, Johnson City, TN
2023 I Know What You Did Last Summer, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2023 April Showers Bring May Flowers, Griffin Art Gallery, Jonesborough, TN
2023 One World from Ukraine to Northeast TN, Fischman Gallery, Atelier 133, Johnson City, TN
2023 Arts and Culture Alliance National Juried Exhibition, Julie Jack, The Emporium Center, Knoxville, TN
2022 The Fletcher Exhibit, Wesam Mazhar Haddad, The Reece Museum, Johnson City, TN
2022 The Hand at Fenix Arts, Adam Finkelston, Fenix Art Gallery, Fayetteville, AR
2022 A New Take on an Old Space, Fischman Gallery, Atelier 133, Johnson City, TN
2022 Arts and Culture Alliance National Juried Exhibition, Tommie Rush, The Emporium Center, Knoxville, TN
2021 The Fletcher Exhibit, Michael Ray Charles, The Reece Museum, Johnson City, TN (Catalogue)
2021 From These Hills: Contemporary Art in the Southern Appalachian Highlands, Michael Rooks,William King Museum, Abingdon, VA (catalog)
2021 Destruction Before Creation, Amber Howard, Tipton Gallery, Johnson City, TN
2021 5x5 Exhibit and Fundraiser, Cheyenne Kumbhare, Johnson City, TN
2021 No bigger than a breadbox, Joan Bontempo, The Emporium Center, Knoxville, TN
2021 Women’s Works 2021 - 34th Annual Show, Audra Jacot, Old Court House Arts Center, Woodstock, IL
2020 Community, Change, & Connection, Theresa Hammond, McKinney Center, Johnson City, TN
2018 Student Show, McKinney Center, Johnson City, TN
2018 ETSU Student Honors Show, ETSU faculty, Johnson City, TN
Awards
2024 O’Neill Rubin Award of Excellence in Thesis Work, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art
2024 Award of Excellence for “Duo”, Appalachian Art Show, Kingsport, TN
2022 Sammie L Nicely Award for “The Demons on the Boat Can’t Hurt Me”, Fletcher Exhibit, Reece Museum, Johnson City, TN
2021 Award of Merit for “Upstream”, Fletcher Exhibit, Reece Museum, Johnson City, TN
Publications and Presentations
2026 Livability Media Magazine, Johnson City Edition
2025 Cycles of Loss and Renewal, Artist Talk, LA’ Art Museum, Iceland
2025 YNST Magazine, Issue 07, Spring 2025
2024 Art Seen Magazine, The Curator’s Salon, Winter Issue
2024 AQ Volume 3, Art Queens, Summer 2024
2023 ‘Good Grief: Art exhibit opening in downtown JC Friday touches on heavy emotion’. WJHL News
Channel 11, January 3, 2023. https:// https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/good-grief-art-exhibit-
opening-in-downtown-jc-friday-touches-on-heavy-emotion/
2022 The Fletcher Exhibit, Exhibition Catalogue, The Reece Museum
2022 The Hand Magazine, Winter issue #35
2021 ‘Carla Taylor takes viewer on a personal journey’, feature interview, A! Magazine For the Arts, Volume 29, No. 1, December 27, 2021.
2021 The Fletcher Exhibit, Exhibition Catalogue, The Reece Museum
2021 The Hand Magazine, fall issue #34
2021 From These Hills, Exhibition Catalogue, Michael Rooks, The William King Museum.
2021 The Hand Magazine, summer issue #33 (back cover)
Curatorial Projects
2026 Upcoming, Deep Listening, Fischman Gallery, Johnson City, TN
2023 Good Grief, Part of the TN Triennial: Re-Pair, co-curated with Ranee Taylor, Fischman Gallery, Johnson City, TN
Residencies
2026 Chateau d’Orquevaux, France
2025 Bonfire Air, Iceland
Related Education
2025 Small Scale Sculptures That Make a Big Impression, Erin Furimsky, Arrowmont, Gatlinburg, TN
2023 Inspired by the Past: Archives and Printmaking Workshop, Leslie Smith and Katie Wigglesworth, Arrowmont, Gatlinburg, TN
2021 Sculptural Woodworking and Experimental Techniques, Teresa Audet, Arrowmont, Gatlinburg, TN
2019 Luminosity, Lines and Transparency in Encaustics, Lynda Ray, Arrowmont, Gatlinburg, TN