Zoya Taylor: Misfits and Waifs

Jamaican-Canadian artist Zoya Taylor’s paintings cover a collection of misfit characters in situations that speak to universal themes. (Above: Family Phobia)

She has a new exhibit at Toronto’s Spence Gallery, which specializes in contemporary expressions of Caribbean, Latin and African culture. (Above: The Reluctant Princesses)

-The Fence Between, 60 x 74 cm

-Blue Love, 50 x 60 cm

Taylor’s recurring characters are drawn partly from memories of a childhood spent in Jamaica.

-Out of Many, One: 30 x 30 cm

-Nothing is as it Seems, 100 x 120 cm

Hers is a world inhabited by wide-eyed waifs, world-weary grandmothers, wistful spinsters, braggadocios and rude-boys.  Her characters exhibit a curious mixture of innocence and worldliness and embody the duality in human nature. -avisfineartgallery

-The Poser: I Know You Want Me (20 x 16″)

-Feeling Fire, 90 x 116

We all have a cast of characters that define our lives. Personal demons or angels, spiritual or not, there’s a commonality in these characters. They draw on themes of the human experience – insecurity, concealed grief, disappointment, pride, hurt, hope, humour and love. -Zoya Taylor artist statement

Taylor has exhibited extensively in Italy, Germany, Spain, England, Jamaica, the U.S. and Norway where she now works full-time.

Zoya Taylor’s website, here