Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Smith.
Hi Taylor, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Art has never been something I simply do — it has been the thread that has connected nearly every chapter of my life.
I grew up in Indianapolis and eventually followed my passion for painting to the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg and also Berlin, Germany, where I spent several years studying, living and working. Being immersed in European contemporary art fundamentally changed the way I approached creativity. I became less interested in simply making paintings and more interested in challenging traditional ideas about what a painting could be.
That spirit of experimentation has guided my career ever since. Over the years, I’ve developed a distinctive mixed-media process that transforms thousands of obsolete 3.5-inch floppy disks into contemporary works of art. Those disks become both the canvas and part of the story — exploring themes of memory, nostalgia, innovation, and our relationship with technology. More recently, that same curiosity has led me to create my new Vinyl Series, which reimagines iconic record albums through handcrafted mixed media.
Today my work is represented by galleries across the United States and Canada and collected by clients throughout the country and abroad. While I’m grateful for where my career has taken me, I’ve never been interested in standing still. Every new series is an opportunity to experiment with new materials, refine old ideas, and create work that feels fresh while remaining true to the themes that have always inspired me.
Looking back, I don’t think my career has been defined by a single breakthrough. Instead, it’s been built through decades of curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to keep evolving. That’s still what excites me most each time I walk into the studio.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. Like most artists, I’ve experienced plenty of setbacks, disappointments, and moments where I questioned whether the risks were worth taking.
One of the biggest challenges has been choosing to follow an unconventional path. Building paintings from thousands of obsolete floppy disks wasn’t something there was a roadmap for. It took years of experimenting with materials, developing techniques, solving technical problems, and creating a process that was both visually compelling and structurally sound. There were many ideas that simply didn’t work before I found the direction that eventually became my signature.
Another challenge has been resisting the temptation to become too comfortable. When a particular series begins to sell, there’s always pressure to keep repeating it. I’ve always believed that artists have to continue evolving, even when that means stepping into the unknown. Every new series starts with uncertainty, and there’s never a guarantee that collectors or galleries will embrace it.
Being an independent artist also means wearing many hats. You’re not only creating artwork — you’re running a business, building relationships with galleries, handling logistics, marketing your work, and constantly looking ahead to what’s next. It can be demanding, but it has also taught me resilience and adaptability.
Looking back, I’m actually grateful for the struggles. They’ve forced me to become a better artist, a better problem solver, and someone who’s willing to keep experimenting. In many ways, the obstacles have been just as important to my growth as the successes.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I create mixed-media paintings that explore the relationship between technology, memory, nostalgia, and contemporary culture. For many years I’ve worked with thousands of obsolete 3.5-inch floppy disks — not simply as a surface to paint on, but as an essential part of each artwork’s story.
What interests me most is taking an object that once represented cutting-edge innovation and transforming it into something entirely unexpected. The floppy disks become a canvas for subjects ranging from iconic musicians and automobiles to fashion, skiing, Americana, and cultural history. Viewers often recognize the imagery first, but then discover they’re actually looking at thousands of pieces of technology that most people haven’t seen in decades.
One thing I’m especially proud of is that I haven’t stopped experimenting. Rather than repeating the same ideas year after year, I continue developing new bodies of work, materials, and techniques. My newest Vinyl Series grew out of that same desire to reinvent familiar cultural icons in a fresh way while continuing to explore themes of memory and nostalgia.
Ultimately, I hope people experience my work on two levels. From across the room, I want the paintings to be visually compelling. Up close, I want viewers to discover the craftsmanship, materials, and countless details that reveal themselves over time. Those moments of surprise and discovery are some of the most rewarding parts of creating art.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’ve always believed that meaningful creativity requires a certain amount of risk. If you’re only making work because you already know it will sell, it’s easy to become comfortable — and comfort rarely leads to innovation.
One of the biggest risks I ever took was leaving home to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Germany. Immersing myself in a completely different culture and artistic environment changed the way I thought about painting and challenged me to look beyond traditional approaches.
Another major risk was building my career around a medium that didn’t exist before. When I began incorporating thousands of obsolete 3.5-inch floppy disks into my paintings, there wasn’t an established audience or market for that kind of work. It required years of experimentation, countless technical challenges, and a great deal of faith that the idea would eventually resonate with collectors. There were certainly moments when choosing the safer path would have been much easier.
Even today, I continue taking risks by developing new bodies of work rather than simply repeating what’s already successful. My Vinyl Series is a good example. Starting a new series always involves uncertainty because you never know how galleries or collectors will respond. But I believe that continuing to evolve is essential. If I’m not pushing myself creatively, I’m probably not creating my best work.
I’ve come to think of risk less as gambling and more as believing in an idea strongly enough to invest the time, energy, and perseverance to see where it leads. Not every experiment succeeds, but every one teaches me something that helps shape the next chapter of my work.
I’ve never viewed risk as taking blind leaps. For me, it’s about doing the work, learning everything I can, and then having the confidence to pursue an idea even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed. Those calculated risks have shaped every meaningful step of my career.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.abstractmodern.com
- Instagram: @taylorsmithstudio
