Michael Taylor

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Michael Taylor—Mask Designer

Michael Taylor designs and creates one-of-a-kind leather masks, and although he’s not a local artist, his work is very popular with the art lovers and mask collectors in town.  Taylor’s exquisite masks are all handmade and he gained world-wide recognition with his huge, carnival-like masterpieces.  Taylor’s masks capture a wide range of personalities from ancient deities, to classical Renaissance forms, to today’s popular Mardi Gras mayhem. 

Michael Taylor was born in Burlingame, California and he’s been sculpting leather masks since 1978.  He traveled all over the world and studied mask traditions and sculpted his work from native leathers.  Taylor’s inspiration came from the masque balls popular in Italy in the seventeenth century.  He incorporated and perfected the Italian method of working with leather to create amazing masks full of life and vibrant color. 

The following process was described in an interview by Corinna Keller:  “Thin, wet leather is first cut to the required pattern.  Slowly shaping hit over a mould gives the mask its three-dimensional form.  The creation is then heated for several hours at a constant temperature.  Only after it has cooled does the mask assume its final shape.  It is finished with acrylic varnish and a variety of leather dyes to make the surface velvety smooth.  The final touch is given by the exotic accessories which elevate Taylor’s mask-sculptures into truly unique creations.”

Taylor’s unique mask creations have been featured in film, video, advertising, live theatre and numerous publicity projects.  His gallery tours have ranged all over, from New Orleans, to Los Angeles, New York, Venice, Rio de Janeiro, even Japan and Switzerland.  Taylor moved to Australia in 1992, where he continued to create his unprecedented masks from his studio in South East Queensland, and his tour exhibition was seen in twenty-one regions of Australia.  Taylor’s imaginative mask sculptures are truly works of art and are sought after by collectors around the world.