The REDCAT Award will be presented to Los Angeles artist Henry Taylor. Taylor is one of the leading figurative painters working today, celebrated for narrative works that often capture African American urban life with a deep honesty. Born in Ventura, CA, Taylor received a BFA from CalArts in 1995. He has had solo exhibitions at MoMA PS1, Long Island City, NY, the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, and the Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA. He was included in the 2017 Whitney Biennial and in the acclaimed exhibition Blues for Smoke shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. In 2018 Taylor received the prestigious Robert De Niro, Sr. Prize, which recognizes significant and innovative contributions to the field of painting.
The REDCAT Award is presented annually to individuals who exemplify the creativity and talent that define and lead the evolution of contemporary culture. Designed by Frank Gehry and fabricated by Tiffany & Co., the award celebrates the spirit of innovation and the transformation of ideas through creative acts and honors artists and cultural leaders, for together they embody the invaluable alliance that shapes eras and defines cultures.
REDCAT, CalArts' downtown center for contemporary arts, is a multidisciplinary center for innovative visual, performing and media arts founded by CalArts in the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex in downtown Los Angeles. Through performances, exhibitions, screenings, and literary events, REDCAT introduces diverse audiences, students, and artists to the most influential developments in the arts from around the world, and gives artists in this region the creative support they need to achieve national and international stature. REDCAT continues the tradition of the California Institute of the Arts, its parent organization, by encouraging experimentation, discovery and lively civic discourse.