Jo Taylor British, b. 1969

One of the great equestrian interpreters of our age, Jo Taylor graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University in 1991. Known for her highly expressive and dynamic paintings and drawings of horses, Taylor’s love for these graceful creatures developed at a very young age. After realising she couldn’t be a horse per se, Taylor learned to ride and draw horses as a girl. Over the years her love has only grown for them and being with the horse is a huge part of her daily life.

After graduating from Leeds Metropolitan University, the Lancashire-born artist then undertook a residency with the Department of Veterinary Medicine at Liverpool University. Wielding formidable knowledge of animal physiology and a highly individualised personal style, Taylor developed a very specific way of creating her compositions. She first builds up her horses with an emphasis on musculature and skin. Their forms are pitched against the muted, otherworldly landscape to create a stirring tension between crisp lines and understated colours.

Through her mixed media approach, that is using drawing and painting materials alongside collage, she builds the horse from the inside out in a quest to flesh out the bones with layers of paper and paint. Her chosen medium enables the artist to reflect the energy and volatile attitude she so often sees in the horses she studies. Having an in-depth understanding on what lies beneath the skin of these magnificent beasts allows Taylor to build an internal sculptural process in her mind as she constructs the lines that become bone, muscle and flesh. Observational drawings always playing a key role in her process, increasing the connection between subject and artist. Sculpture is also a huge influence on her practice – “I always want the viewer to feel as though they can walk around my horses” - and so Marini, Frink and Rodin have been important influences together with the paintings of Leonora Carrington, Marlene Dumas and Paul Nash.

Jo Taylor has appeared in shows across the UK, the US, and Dubai. Her work graces many distinguished public and private collections and has been printed in The Observer, The Times, and Country Life. She first exhibited with Thompson’s in 2001.