RISD GRAD/DESIGNER TALKS HOW ART IMPACTED HER LIFE ITS IMPORTANTCE IN LIFE AND PAW SOX MURALS

https://www.tayoheuser.com

Tayo Heuser was born in Washington D.C. but raised in North, East and West Africa. She returned to the United States to attend college at the Rhode Island School of Design.

in Tunisia Heuser wandered the ruins of Carthage admiring the vast expanses of the former Roman market place and baths, along with the Roman mosaics still embedded in the ground. The Great Mosque of Kairouan with its horseshoe arches and Islamic tiles were mesmerizing.

Thus began her interest in geometry entailed in creating patterns that would continue to inform her artwork for years to come. Libya and the Sudan would be enormous influences too, not only for the Roman ruins but her voyages through the Sahara. The night sky and infinite horizon of the desert would be imprinted on her mind. The other end of the spectrum from the stillness of the desert would be in the Ivory Coast. Heuser would revel in the vibrant color of the textiles worn by the Ivorian people along with the varied and abundant vegetation. Her friend would drive her into the bushland to meet with shamans.

Heuser is a world citizen. Her identity transcends her geography and political borders. Her art work is a confluence of her cultural experiences both visual and spiritual. Her paintings are like portals in that they represent a world of infinite possibilities. There is time for reflectivity and timeless tranquility. They create a heightened perception of the world we live in. They are passageways between her interior and exterior worlds. Her art is a spiritual excavation. She addresses the central theme of cosmic balance between light and darkness, spirit and matter.

Heuser has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally including, the Phillips Collection Museum, Washington D.C., the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, the David Winton Bell Gallery at Brown University, the University Art Museum, California State University, Long Beach, the Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, the Weatherspoon Museum, University of North Carolina in Greensboro, the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NYC, the Chateau de Fernelmont in Belgium, the Center for Non Objective Art, Brussels, Belgium, H29 Gallery, Brussels, Belgium, the Exhibition Gallery at Roger Williams University Bristol, R.I., the Dorsky Gallery in Brooklyn, N.Y., Margarete Roeder Gallery, NYC, Josée Bienvenue Gallery in NYC, the Newport Art Museum, Newport R.I., Cade Tompkins Projects, Providence R.I., the Chazan Gallery Providence, R.I., the Cynthia Reeves Galley in Hanover N.H., the Deedee Shattuck gallery in Westport Mass., the Bristol Art Museum in Bristol, R.I., amongst others.

Heuser has been the recipient of the BAU Institute residency in Otranto, Italy (2012), The Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale NY (2016), Louis Comfort Tiffany Award nominee (2010), Networks RI in 2012 (documentary), Vermont Studio Center Fellowship (2011), Professional Development Grant to study paper making in Japan from Roger Williams University in 2009.

Heuser’s work is in the collections of the Phillips Collection Museum, Washington D.C., the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, CA., the Rhode Island School of Museum, Providence, R.I., the Weatherspoon Museum, Greensboro, N.C., Brown University David Winton Bell Gallery, Providence, R.I., the American Embassy in Jeddha, Saudi Arabia, the Leeds Foundation in Philadelphia, Pa., the Werner Kramarsky Collection in NYC, the Progressive Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio, Fidelity Investments in Smithfield, R.I., Duke Energy in Raleigh, North Carolina, Blue Cross Blue Shield of RI, amongst many other public and private collections.