SHANNON TAYLOR

GOBLIN

solo exhibition

June 6th - July 6th, 2025

Opening Reception: First Friday, June 6th, 2025 ​

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For a thousand years, goblins have been stealing and stashing shiny, gold and precious things. Think Gringott’s bank, Gollum from Lord of the Rings, or even Norman Osborn, whose greed, in part, transformed him into the Green Goblin in Spiderman. This trope of the goblin’s greed makes you wonder what riches are in store in Shannon Taylor’s newest collection—GOBLIN—twenty-one captivating watercolor collages set inside miniature antiques.

 

“When people look at my work, I want them to feel like goblins, only satisfied when their pockets bulge with shiny art-treasure. I have been feeling more and more like a goblin myself lately. There is a degree of safeguarding and protection at the forefront of my mind (combined with a need for productive mischief and good trouble). Art-making addresses my concern for the current state of the world; no Gods, no masters or dictators can change my heart or take what I treasure most.” - Shannon Taylor

 

Taylor pieces together a different world, one that’s filled with magic, freedom and wonder. The works in GOBLIN mark a whole new level of ingenuity from the artist, whose prolific portfolio is already so inspired. GOBLIN has some of the smallest narrative fantasies we’ve ever seen; a handful are less than an inch on all sides, plus even more elaborately layered and dimensional large circular compacts. Taylor’s ability to manipulate miniscule cuts of paper with precision and versatility is incredible, and she masterfully considers how the content works in tandem with each found-object antique. 

 

In this way, Taylor’s teeny-tiny work feels like a much larger journey. It’s a magical adventure through cascading waterfalls and flower-laden fields, where skeletons the size of your pinky-nail rise to get their freak on and kindly spirits dance beneath a rainbow-filled sky.

 

Shannon Taylor (Oakland, b.1984) has an MFA in Illustration from University of the Arts London, Camberwell, and she currently teaches at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, her undergraduate alma mater. Taylor began showing with Arch Enemy Arts in 2019, exhibiting 2D watercolor paintings for four years before switching to her current style of sculptural collage in 2023. GOBLIN is Taylor’s fifth solo show with the gallery; she has sold out her most recent three solos with us and established a collector-base from all over the world.

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GOBLIN will be on view from June 6th - July 6th, 2025
Sold works will begin to ship the week starting July 13th, unless other rush shipping arrangements have been made. 

Items marked with a red dot have already been sold.

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