Biography
Carla Taylor, a visual artist born in 1972, currently resides and works in Johnson City, TN. Her diverse body of work centers on various facets of female identity, specifically motherhood and a woman’s need for safety and empowerment. She also explores the cyclical nature of loss and renewal within the human experience. Carla’s distinctive artistic language often relies on the use of line as a form of communication, aiming to capture the “residue” or “essence” of human emotion. Her artwork is characterized by layered and tangled imagery, depicting wild yet fragile spaces, and encompassing various mediums, including paper, textiles, and clay.
Carla has presented her artworks in both solo and group exhibitions, both regionally and nationally. Some notable exhibitions include “From These Hills: Contemporary Arts in Southern Appalachian Highlands” at the William King Museum and “Woman’s Work” in Woodstock, IL. In 2023, Carla curated an exhibition titled “Good Grief”, featuring 22 artists expressing unique perspectives on loss, which was a part of the Tennessee Triennial. Her work has also been featured in several editions of the Hand Magazine, a publication dedicated to alternative photographic processes and printmaking techniques.
She is currently represented by the Grand Bohemian Gallery in Greenville, South Carolina, and maintains a studio at Atelier 133 in downtown Johnson City. Carla is pursuing an MFA at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art (2024) and holds a BS in Psychology from John Brown University.
Curriculum Vitae
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Carla Taylor
133 N Commerce St
Johnson City, TN 37604
carlataylorart.com
Born
1972 in Dallas, Texas
Lives/Works
Johnson City, Tennessee (since 2006)
Education
2024 MFA Candidate, 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
2024 Taking. Up. Space. (Upcoming), Thrive Together Network and Eat/Art/Space, Johnson City, TN
2024 Through Lines (upcoming), Fischman Gallery, Johnson City, TN
2023 Brighter Than the Fire Around Me, Fischman Gallery, Johnson City, TN
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
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 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
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
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 Project
2023 Good Grief, Part of the TN Triennial: Re-Pair, co-curated with Rae Tayo, Fischman Gallery,
Johnson City, TN
Related Education
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