RUNDOWN Painting

Through his towering painted canvases, Taki Gold reveals his childhood experiences during the Liberian Civil War to explore the complexities of war, power, femininity, and identity. TAKI came to the United States from Liberia, Africa by way of the Ivory Coast at the age of ten. He lived through four years of war under the protection of local village women. These women shaped TAKI's understanding of color and form, encouraging him to process the brutality of war by creating beauty from wreckage. In 1994, TAKI was reunited with his parents and siblings and has continued to use his art to contemplate notions of identity, belonging, and rebirth. TAKI uses paintings to examine the concept of childhood and challenge viewers to see the world with the honesty and imagination of a child. His works are multilayered and emotional, often using a shadowy figure on a colorful background as a pictorial storyteller. Through these enticing images, TAKI strives to offer a mirror for audiences to reflect on darkness and light without judgment.