Artist: Taylor Robenalt
Taylor Robenalt, FLORIDA
Storytelling has been a part of our culture since the beginning of human existence, from the cave paintings of Lascaux and the fertility figure of Venus of Willendorf. I, in my own way, want to be a part of this storytelling by making detailed porcelain sculptures that explore the figure, flora and fauna. I create narratives using personal experience combined with animal interactions and semiotics. Art helps me understand the relationship between humans in the natural world, myself, and my place in the contemporary world. I strive to reveal human and animal commonalities, by exposing both the light and the shadow that blind us together.
Clay is a fantastic material that allows me to create whatever surface I want to help enhance my narratives. It is so versatile and both the additive and subtractive qualities make it easier for me to manipulate. The history of clay dates back to the beginning of humans and has been a tool for helping humanity survive and tell stories on its surfaces and through sculptures. It is a medium that unites every culture.
I have chosen porcelain because it is a beautiful, pure material. I often leave it in its raw state, which has a skin like quality. Most of the imagery that I utilize has specific meaning that relates to my personal emotions and creates a narrative: dogs represent loyalty and unconditional love, birds represent vibrancy and freedom, and swans represent purity and bunnies fertility. Flowers represent the cycle of life and rebirth. I view the work as a metaphor for how life is always transforming itself – constantly bringing forth a new chapter of unforeseen existence.
Taylor Robenalt attended Southern Methodist University for her BFA in bronze casting and stone carving. She then received a graduate assistantship at the University of Georgia accomplishing her MFA in ceramics in May 2011. She is currently a visiting full time professor at Ringling College of Art and Design and has taught at State College of Florida, Auburn University and Columbus State University as an adjunct professor. Taylor was a long-term artist resident at Odyssey Clayworks. In addition Taylor has participated in many national and international ceramic shows. She has been part of multiple panels at NCECA as well as participated in many NCECA shows. She has co-taught a workshop at Penland School of Crafts in 2018 and has been a visiting artist at many Universities. Taylor won the NCECA International Residency Award in 2019 and studied at A.I.R. Vallauris, France for a month. 2020 was a particularly rewarding year, because she received the Halo Fellowship Award to help her install her first solo museum show at the Canton Museum of Art. This year, Taylor is curating two large ceramic shows, one at Blue Spiral Gallery in Asheville, NC, and a large animal themed show at the Canton Museum of Art in Ohio. Taylor has received many scholarships including tuition waivers to Monte Verde, Costa Rica, Cortona, Italy, Tokoname, Japan, Watershed, Maine, Penland, North Carolina and Red Lodge, Montana.
Education:
2008-2011: Ceramics Graduate Program, MFA, University of Georgia
2006-2008: Post Baccalaureate, University of South Florida
2002-2006: BFA in Sculpture, Southern Methodist University
Scholarships/Awards:
2021: Summer Resident Artist at Skopelos Foundation of the Arts, Skopelos, Greece
2021: Halo Arts Project Grant
2020: Halo Arts Project Grant
2019: NCECA International Residency Award to attend A.I.R. Vallauris, France
2019: Pentaculum at Arrowmont School of Craft
2018: Red Lodge Artist Invite Artist
2018: NCECA Discussion Panel on Community
2017: Award of Excellences, CraftArt Festival
2017: Honorable Mention at Creatures: Wild and Wooley
2017: NCECA Discussion Panel on Gender
2016: Odyssey Clayworks Long Term Resident
2016: Honorable Mention at “De-La Naturalaza”
2016: Artist Invite Artist Residency at Watershed, leader scholarship
2015: Penland Studio Assistant
2015: Penland Summer Work Study
2015: Odyssey ClayWork Summer Residency
Solo Shows:
2021: Kinship, Abmeyer and Wood, Online platform
2020: The Dark and The Light, Linda Berry Stein University, Jacksonville, FL
2020: Symbolic Narratives, Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio
2018: Interaction, Grovewood Village Gallery, Asheville, North Carolina
2017: Seriously Fun, Almost Circle Gallery, Biloxi, Mississippi
2017: Working With My Emotional Intelligences, 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, Florida
2015: Black, White and Gold, Blackfish Gallery, Portland, Oregon
2015: The Act of Flourishing, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Gallery, Gulfport, Mississippi
2015: Flourishing, The Field Work Gallery, Auburn, Alabama
2014: Porcelain Clusters, The Boabob Tree Gallery, Bradenton, Florida
Group Shows:
2022: Kinky Creatures, NCECA, Sacramento, CA
2022: Beauty In The Beast, Blue Spiral Gallery, Asheville, NC
2022: Figurative Invitational, Companion Gallery, Humbolt, TN
2021: Annual Ringling College Faculty Exhibition, Lois and David Stulberg Gallery, Sarasota, FL
2021: Social Distance Residency Show, Gulf Coast State Gallery, FL
2021: Rough Around the Edges, Spaaces Gallery, Sarasota, FL
2021: The Dinner Party, State of Art Gallery, Sarasota, FL
2021: Crafts in The Air, International Exhibition, Chaulalongkron, Taiwan
2021: Thinking With Animals 2, NCECA online show
2021: Expressive, In Tandem Gallery, Bakersville, NC
2021: Clay: A Southern Census, Clay Center of New Orleans, NO
2020: Southern Miss Ceramics, University of Southern Mississippi, MI
2020: SARTQ Retrospective, Art Center of Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2020: Collaborations, SPAACES, Sarasota, FL
2020: Instructor Showcase, Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft, Gatlinburg, TN
2020: Instructor Show, Appalachian Center of Craft, Smithville, TN
2020: Thinking With Animals, NCECA Show, Richmond, VA
2019: Figurative Florida, Morean Center For Clay, St. Petersburg, FL.
2019: Annual Ringling College Faculty Exhibition, Lois and David Stulberg Gallery, Sarasota, FL
2019: Beautiful & Bizarre, Florida CraftArt Gallery, St. Petersburg FL
2019: Annual Teapots, Morgan Contemprary Glass Gallery, Pittsburg, PA
2019: Bookends, University of Minnesota’s Architecture Library Gallery, NCECA2019, Minneapolis, Minnesota
2019: Garden Party, Watson Macrae Gallery, Sanibel, Florida
2019: Migracion, Leon, Mexico
2019: People and Faces, Craft Art, St. Petersburg, Florida
2019: Tall Tales, Endicott College, Beverly, Massachusetts
2018: Color and Content, Gaze Modern, Sarasota, Florida
2018: Bodies and Beings, Abmeyer + Wood Fine Art, Seattle, Washington
2018: Alt-White: A Tongue and Cheek Search For Trump’s China, NCECA, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
2018: Unifying The Narrative Figure, Ceramic Sculpture Culture Show, NCECA, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
2018: Unifying The Narrative Figure, Flora Kirsch Becky Art Gallery, Alma College, Alma, Michigan
2018: Cognitive Dissonance, Fe Gallery, Sacramento, California
2017: Kerrie Lowe Gallery Intentional Teapot Show, Sydney, Australia
2017: Sculpture Different, Watson MacRea Gallery, Sanibel Florida
Teaching Experience:
2021-present Visiting Full Time Professor at Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida
2018-present: Adjunct Professor at Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida
2015-2016: Adjunct Instructor in Ceramics, Auburn University, Auburn Alabama
Panels/Workshops:
2021: Ceramic Symposium, Gulf Coast State College, Panama City, FL
2020: Story Telling with Teapots and Tiny Sculptures, Arrowmont, Gatlinburg, TN
2019: Visiting Artist, University of Tampa, FL
2019: Working Narrative, Pottery Studio, Orlando, FL
2019: Visiting Artist, Berkley Prep, Tampa Florida
2019: Visiting Artist, Endicott College, Beverly, Massachusetts
2019: Animal Totems, Pace Academy, Atlanta, Georgia
2018: Co-Teaching at Penland School of Craft with Kyungmin Park
2018: Figurative Workshop at Ybor Art Center
2017: Visiting Artist at Jacksonville University
2017: Visiting Artist at Southern Mississippi University
2017: Porcelain Pros, Kyungmin Park and Taylor Robenalt, Odyssey Clayworks, Asheville, NC
2017: Towson Visiting Artist, Townson University, Maryland
2017: Porcelain Workshop, Ohr/O’keefe Museum, Biloxi, Mississippi
2016: Flora and Fauna Workshop, University of Montevallo
2015: Animal Workshop, Alabama State University
Gallery Representation:
2018-present: Ambeyer + Wood, Seattle, Washington
2018-present: Fischer Gallery, Jackson, Mississippi
2017-present: Florida Craft Art, St. Petersburg Florida
2017-present: GroveWood Gallery, Asheville, North Carolina
2017-present: Watson MacRae Gallery, Sanibel, Florida
Collective/ Board Member:
2016-2020: Co-Founder of Ceramic Sculpture Culture
2017-present: S.A.R.T.Q Collective Memeber
2017-present: Board Member at Florida Craft Art
Publications:
2020: “ Dish + Art”, Sarasota Magazine, October Issue 2020
2020: “Luxe Interiors +Design”, September Issue 2020
2019: “Amazing Glaze” Techniques, Recipes, Finishing and Firing written by Gabriel Kline
2018: “Grovewood Gallery presents an exhibition of new work by contemporary ceramics artist Taylor Robenalt” Rapid River Magazine’s Arts and Culture, May 2018, Vol.29.No 9. Pg 9
2018: “ Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After”, Asheville Made, pg 72 May Issue, 2018
2018: Artsy Article, January, “ Why Ceramic Artists Art So Good at Dealing with Failure” 2018
2017: Ceramic Monthly, exposure October Issue
2017: Where Women Create, August Issue 2017
2016: ArtAxis, online image resource