Mike Taylor

(American, born 1947)

Mike Taylor is an artist and professor. He creates minimalist abstract paintings, drawings, and sculpture informed by his background in design and communications. Forms and symbols in his work draw on his African heritage while commenting on racial stereotypes and class dynamics.

Born in Houston, Texas, Taylor moved at age ten to Los Angeles, California. He earned a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Arts in Design, and a Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Communication from the University of California, Los Angeles. After working in commercial design, he moved to Kenya where he taught at the university level for three years. He later taught at Western Kentucky University. Taylor served as Professor of Art at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon from 1982 until his retirement in 2003.