Mason Taylor (b. 2004) is a queer African American multimedia fine artist, ceramicist, and educator from Bowie, Maryland. He is graduating from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in General Fine Arts (2026) and a Master of Arts in Teaching (2027). Growing up attending schools in Arlington, Virginia, named after plantations, battlefields, and slave owners, Taylor’s work confronts American history, identity, and race. He shatters established images, degrading and molding his materials. By swapping narratives, his paintings challenge tradition, contemporary art, and historical ideals. In installations that combine painted portraits, items from his grandmother’s house, and wheel-thrown ceramics, he reflects on image and ritual through family history. With craft material and installation, he explores ideas relating to femininity and excess. He creates his own personal and handheld icons, exploring the themes of commodification and commercialization. His work builds an archive of found and handmade materials in response to the loss of many primary sources.

Taylor’s work has appeared in the Prince George’s County 2025 Annapolis Delegation Art Group exhibition and several group shows at MICA. He placed second in the 2022 Congressional Art Competition in Virginia and was a 2021 Scholastics American Visions Award nominee and the recipient of the Alliance/ACT-SO Journey scholarship that year.