| Wendy Taylor | |
| Movement: | Modernism |
| Website: | http://wendytaylorsculpture.co.uk/ |
| Field: | Sculpture |
| Training: | St Martin's School of Art |
Wendy Ann Taylor (born Stamford, Lincolnshire, 1945) is an English artist and sculptor, specialising in permanent, site-specific commissions. According to her website, she 'was one of the first artists of her generation to “take art out of the galleries and onto the streets”'.[1] Her work typically consists of large sculptures which are displayed to appear carefully balanced.[2]
Wendy Taylor studied from 1963 to 1967 at the Saint Martin's School of Art in London. She gained renown for her many sculptures in the public realm, especially in London.
Taylor's abstract sculptures explore themes of equilibrium, materiality and fabrication. She views her artworks as communicative devices.
From 1981 to 1999, Taylor was a Member of the Royal Fine Art Commission which now forms part of the Design Council. From 1986 to 1988, she was design consultant for the Commission for New Towns. In 1988, Taylor was the subject of a documentary on The South Bank Show, and, in 1992, her work was profiled in a monograph by Edward Lucie-Smith.
In the 1988 Birthday Honours, Taylor was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 1999, she restored the Virginia Quay Settlers Monument at Blackwall, London,[3] adding a mariner's astrolabe. In 2005, a major exhibition of her work was held at the Cass Sculpture Foundation in Goodwood titled The Seed Series. In 2009, this exhibition travelled to Canary Wharf in London.
Three of her works are Grade II listed structures: the Virginia Quay Settlers Monument, Timepiece in St Katharine Docks, London, and the Octo sculpture and reflecting pool, in Milton Keynes. The Octo is a "continuous strip of stainless steel, 12ft high, forms a sinuous foil to the Miesian purism of Stuart Mosscrop's town office buildings".[4] It is an early example of the Milton Keynes Development Corporation’s public art programme.
Taylor lives and works in London. She is a fellow of the Royal Zoological Society.
In 2019 Taylor was in dispute with The Time Party after the minor pro-Brexit party used an image of Timepiece on their website and on their merchandise. Talking to The Observer, Taylor said "It is not so much about the politics for me, it is about using Timepiece in a way I did not intend. The Time party may say that the image is just a sundial, but it is clearly based on my work.”[5]
| 1965 | Pratt Award | |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Sainsbury Award | |
| 1977 | ‘Duias na Riochta’ (Kingdom Prize)Gold Medal at the Listowel Graphics Exhibition, County Kerry, Eire | |
| 1977 | Arts Council Award | |
| 1978 | First Prize Silk-screen, Barcham Green Print Competition | |
| 1988 | Commander of the British Empire | |
| 1989 | Fellow of the Zoological Society | |
| 1993 | Fellow of Queen Mary College, University of London | |
| 1994 | Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors | |
| 2002 | Civic Trust Partnership Award, Chase Green, Enfield | |
| 2004 | Building of the Year Award, Architectural Sculpture | |
| 2004 | Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts |