Through media ranging from traditional to unorthodox, Steed Taylor forges a connection between the human experiences of longing and loss--of spirituality and memorial. In his artist statement for a series of digital prints called “Missing” (2006), Taylor writes, “As a person living with AIDS, I am constantly reminded of the tenuousness of life. This body of work is an investigation into my mortality.” Black ink marks obscure Taylor’s childhood image from enlargements of the most warm and intimate family photographs. In each 1960s-era suburban/rural landscape, his family poses for the first day of school, plays games, and goes fishing while the rough empty outline of one missing member wrenches the viewer back to the loss.

Taylor’s projects, so intimate in theme, simultaneously assume a public presence in the scope of audience and often in the community-oriented process of their creation. Over the recent years, Mr. Taylor’s work has consisted of Road Tattoos. In 1997, as he attended a residency program at Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture, is where Taylor's first idea of creating Tattoo’s as an art evoked him. His Road Tattoos are expansive painted designs on streets or highways that commemorate the struggles of individuals and communities.

In describing the Tattoos, Taylor says, “I am interested in the intersection of memorials, ritual and public art. I have been investigating how personal emotional significance can be placed on a public space and how this emotional resonance can be manifested in public artwork. Road Tattoos are a result of this investigation.”

Placed at locations of individual or community significance, Road Tattoos are composed of cultural designs previously appropriated to mark skin. Once the design is drawn on the road, names or other specific information is painted within the design, a prayer is said and the design is painted in, covering over this information. They are subtle, usually close in color to the roadway, but made with high-gloss latex causing them to appear and disappear with passing light. Eventually traffic and weather conditions dissolve them into the road.

Over the past decade, Taylor has been commissioned to create numerous Road Tattoos across the country and in China, each addressing its own theme or issue. A Tattoo in Arizona recognized survivors of domestic violence; a piece titled, “Evelyn’s Knot,” commemorates a woman who died of breast cancer; in Riverside Park a tattoo includes names of New York City bicycle messengers; and in North Carolina the names of local invasive flora were painted into a Tattoo inviting viewers to reflect on the invasive power of nature and humankind.

As part of the 2008 Beijing Chinese Biennial, “Dragon Blessings,” incorporated names of NYC Olympic athletes. In describing Taylor’s work, curator of the Biennial, Koan Jeff Baysa, says, “The road tattoos“ are evanescent commemorative communal and interactive installations distinguished by history and ritual. Personalized markings by individuals bound through specific commonalities, the results are ultimately works heavily invested with emotion, and made more so by the processes by which these works are sited as public art works.”

Currently in New York City, Steed Taylor was born in Cumberland County, North Carolina in 1959, and has earned a B.A. in Studio Art and English from the University of North Carolina as well as an MBA in Finance and Marketing from American University in Washington, D.C. Taylor’s contribution to the arts had been recognized with a 2007 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, specifically as a Lily Auchincloss Fellow for enhancing the quality of life in New York City. His work has been shown in national and international galleries and museums.