Ryan Taber

Ryan Taber is a Los-Angeles based artist, woodworker, and educator. Since 2015, he has served as head of the Wood program at Cal State University Long Beach’s School of Art. The program has expanded significantly under Taber’s leadership, emphasizing sustainability and critical thinking at every step in the creative process. 

Taber’s art practice fuses painting, photography and mixed-media sculpture. Each piece utilizes an intricate web of historical references to interrogate notions of art and visual culture. Taber prioritizes materiality, which is reflected in the CSULB Wood program’s initiative to recycle wood from nearby dead trees which would otherwise go to landfill. The challenges inherent in working with imperfect, recycled wood encourage Taber’s students to continuously problem solve and maintain an ongoing dialogue with their materials.

Ryan Taber wood sample
A Colonial Eversion, or The Metamorphic Library Stairs of King George III: Temperance and The Voluptuary, 2019
Ryan Taber art design
Ryan Taber chair and end table sample
Staring Into The Confined Deep: After The Old Hickory Rocker and Side Table Designed for Robert Reamers Old Faithful Inn, 1914, 2010
Leather sample black Ryan Taber
Ryan Taber, In Permanent Recline: After Sergio Rodrigues and Peter Wilhelm Lund, 2016
Detail of sample 2 black leather Ryan Taber
Ryan Taber, In Permanent Recline: After Sergio Rodrigues and Peter Wilhelm Lund, 2016, detail