Alison Elizabeth Taylor
(b. 1972)

Alison Elizabeth Taylor is an American artist based out of New York City. She is known for her marquetry hybrid work combining Renaissance-style marquetry with painting and collage to depict contemporary subject matter. Her exhibitions have been covered in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Village Voice.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_Elizabeth_Taylor

Anthony Cuts under the Williamsburg Bridge, Morning
2020
Marquetry hybrid (wood veneers, oil paint, acrylic paint, inkjet prints, shellac, and sawdust on wood)
66.5 x 85 cm
Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, Washington, United States
https://portraitcompetition.si.edu/exhibition/2022-outwin-boochever-portrait-competition/anthony-cuts-under-williamsburg-bridge-morning/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-vibrant-portrait-of-a-covid-era-haircut-claims-first-prize-in-the-outwin-competition-180979994/

On walks around her Brooklyn neighborhood during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Alison Elizabeth Taylor encountered the hair groomer Anthony Payne, who, with his workplace shuttered, had taken his scissors, mirror, and chair to the streets. Payne sought to financially support the Black Lives Matter movement, especially in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, and turned over proceeds from his donation-based haircuts to organizations advocating for social justice.

Taylor’s process, one she developed and named “marquetry hybrid,” incorporates vivid paints, inkjet prints, and the natural grains of over one hundred veneers. Marquetry, with its inlaid combination of woods, can “memorialize,” Taylor notes. She acknowledges the history of the craft, which was favored by Louis XIV (1654–1715) when he was acquiring furniture for Versailles.