Mike Taiyou

My work explores the intersections of materiality and metaphysics, using the figure and abstract forms to delve into universal symbols of the psyche. Inspired by the gestural energy of Lee Krasner and the layered narratives of Anselm Kiefer, and how their practice balances personal introspection with collective resonance.
Working across disparate genres with a fluid, dynamic approach, Taiyou employs color as vibration, light and dark as metaphor, and nature as pattern to bridge the tangible and the ineffable. Based in both California and the East Coast, their oil and mixed-media works invite viewers to explore the liminal spaces between reality and mystery

Corcoran Museum School of Art
San Francisco City College
Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art

Selected Exhibitions:
Hive Gallery Los Angeles
Oddball Gallery Los Angeles
2019-2018:
Los Angeles Brewery Art Walk
2013:
BG Gallery at the Brewery Los Angeles
Los Angeles Big Art Lab Mural
Anastasia’s Santa Monica
San Francisco Squint Gallery, "Downtown Days"
San Francisco Crucible Steel Gallery
San Francisco Quetzal
San Francisco Presidio Herbst Exhibition Hall
Yerba Buena "New Faces"
Couture for the Cure, Toomey Tourell Art Gallery
SF Great American Music Hall, "Art and Music"
San Francisco Mission Cultural Center, "Emerging Artists"
Verds Funk, "Solo"
SF Patrick Brown Melanoma Foundation Art Auction
1111 Lounge
Chathkuse
SF City Art Co Op Gallery, "Alternative Materials"
Encore Gallery group show

Films, "Coffee and Language"
Washington DC, "Alternative Spaces"
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery