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Biography

 

Carla Taylor is a multimedia artist, who 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 "Converge" at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery in Philadelphia, PA.  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 holds an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art (PAFA) and a BS in Psychology from John Brown University.

Curriculum Vitae

Carla Taylor

133 N Commerce St

Johnson City, TN 37604

cnedtaylor2373@gmail.com

carlataylorart.com

insta@ctaylor.art

 

Born

1974 in Dallas, Texas

 

Lives/Works

Johnson City, Tennessee (since 2006)

 

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   Blood, Sweat, Tears (Upcoming), The Emporium Center, Knoxville, TN

2024   Through Lines, Fischman Gallery, Johnson City, TN

2024   A Journey Through (Thesis Exhibition), Anne Bryan Gallery, PAFA, 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

2024    The Fletcher Exhibit, Meaghan Dee, Reece Museum, JohnsonCity, TN

2024    Written in Real Time, Eat/Art/Space, Johnson City, TN

2024    Converge, Dr. Brittany Webb, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2024    Floor Four, Pennsylvania Academy Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA

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

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

2024  Art Seen Magazine, The Curator's Salon, Winter Issue

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

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