Guard 1988

Al Taylor made the print *Guard* in 1988 using etching and aquatint on paper. Taylor, who came of age in the 1970s, developed a sculptural practice rooted in the detritus of everyday life. In *Guard,* Taylor presents us with a latticed form, a container perhaps, rendered in delicate lines and tones. We can see how his approach to sculpture informs his printmaking. Taylor was interested in the tension between representation and abstraction. It is as if he asks, “How does this object, divorced from its context, still signify?” What does it mean to guard? What needs protection? Taylor's objects often evoke a sense of fragility, as if on the verge of collapse. Similarly, in *Guard,* the artist seems interested in the precarious balance between form and formlessness.