Taylor Pilote
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
sculptor
Taylor Pilote of Tampa, Florida is a sculptor whose work combines the skills used in custom car modification with the sensibility of a surrealist. A self-proclaimed ‘shop rat’, Pilote grew up around his father’s auto paint and body business, learning immaculate craft techniques that he later adapted to his own creative concerns. Taking cues from the visual language of America’s car culture, Pilote builds wildly inventive high art sculptures that are at once familiar and strange. Born in Ontario, Canada, Pilote earned his BFA from the LeBel School of Visual Art at the University of Windsor in Ontario and recently completed his MFA from the University of South Florida in Tampa. He has exhibited at the Canadian Sculpture Society in Toronto and the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL and at the Miami Museum of Contemporary Art. Since receiving the Tanne Award, Pilote has relocated to Philadelphia, renovated a new studio space and devoted his time fully to creating and exhibiting his work. His work was featured in the Car Part Art Exhibit at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
This bio/description was originally published in 2015 and updated in 2016. For more current information, please refer to the award recipient's website (if provided).