"Gary Taxali visually blends now with then. His style, inspired by vintage comics and advertising art, is repurposed with the goal of communicating the ironies and comical essence of popular culture. His work is at once alluring and endearing. Despite the vintage look, he is neither maudlin nor nostalgic. His imagery is rich in satiric verve." - Steven Heller



Gary Taxali’s illustrations have a rich inviting quality about them that draw one in to tell their story. An award-winning illustrator whose work has appeared in many major magazines, Taxali has exhibited in many galleries and museums throughout North America and Europe. Illustration has been a big part of Taxali's life. Although born in India in 1968, a year later, he and his family emigrated to Toronto. The encouragement of his parents led Taxali to take art classes as a child which eventually led him to pursue an art education. In 1991, he graduated from the Ontario College of Art and immediately began working as a professional illustrator.



A few years later, he began showing in various exhibitions and galleries throughout North America including Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles. In 2005, he launched his first vinyl toy, The Toy Monkey, which includes a special edition specifically created for The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Aside from his gallery shows and illustration work, Taxali also devotes a portion of his time traveling through lecturing and teaching at various arts organizations and schools such as The Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. An advocate for the arts, Taxali has invested years of his life and is apart of many organizations promoting illustrators and artists in general. He is a Founding Member of The Illustrators' Partnership of America and sits on the Advisory Board of 3x3: The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration. His style is suited to everything, fine art, illustration, mixed media, screen-printing, and now moving into the world of sculpture: his toys.



Currently, Taxali is working on his next mass production toy figure, "Oh No", under the name of his new company, Chump Inc. as well as 'This Is Silly", a children's book published by Scholastic and slated for a spring 2010 release. Which came as no surprise after finding out the artists who inspire him the most, "core people like EC Segar (the creator of Popeye) and the Fleischer brothers. I’ve always really liked Dr Seuss; Maurice Sendak; 1930s typography, package design and advertising posters; the Russian constructivists. Andy Warhol is a favourite – he helped me a lot. He helped all of us a lot. Picasso helped all of us too". Despite his various skills, the artist tries to keep versatility in his media as much as possible. To this day he continues to live and work in Toronto, Canada.

We will be featuring an original by the artist in the upcoming ICON: A Labor of Line exhibit.


 

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