ALISON ELIZABETH TAYLOR 1972 Las Vegas, Nevada

Artist Alison Elizabeth Taylor on Making Intricate Wooden Tableaux While Her Kids Zoom for School in the Background The artist is putting the final touches on her solo show, "Future Promise," which opens at James Cohan Gallery this September. Marquetry—the age-old technique of applying small pieces of colored wood to create decorative patterns—is a word that conjures up visions of antique stores and auction house catalogues; it feels like a craft enthused over by connoisseurs, not the makings of contemporary art. Brooklyn-based artist Alison Elizabeth Taylor, however, knows otherwise. Over the years the artist has transformed marquetry into something wholly her own in a signature process that incorporates inlaid wood, painting, and collaged textures. A native Nevadan and a witness to the boom and bust of Las Vegas, Taylor uses marquetry to create poignant scenes filled with the landscapes and misfit characters of the Southwest. A tension exists on the works’ very surface: the intricacy of the marquetry, associated with the decor of upper-class homes, entices the eye to linger on oft-overlooked subjects. We recently caught up with Taylor in her studio (in a building, her neighbors have told her, that used to be a coffin factory) as she was putting the final touches on “Future Promise“, her forthcoming solo exhibition at New York’s James Cohan Gallery.