THE VINYL SERIES
Original Mixed-Media Paintings Celebrating the Albums That Defined Generations

Each original painting is handcrafted from vintage floppy disks individually selected from Smith’s studio archive of thousands, bringing together music, memory, craftsmanship, and the dawn of the digital age.

Taylor Smith Vinyl Series artworks made from vintage 3.5-inch floppy disks, shown in a Los Angeles interior

THE VINYL SERIES

Original Mixed-Media Paintings Reimagining Iconic Recordings

Music has an extraordinary ability to transport us through time. The Vinyl Series transforms the albums that defined generations into original mixed-media paintings created from vintage floppy disks individually selected from Smith’s studio archive of thousands, collected and preserved over many years. Bridging the analog era of vinyl with the dawn of personal computing, each work celebrates not only an iconic recording, but also the memories, people, and moments forever connected to it.

Built by Hand

Taylor Smith holding a vintage 3.5-inch floppy disk beside a completed Sticky Fingers center label and unfinished aluminum center labels used in the Vinyl Series mixed-media paintings. — Each Vinyl Series painting begins with exactly ninety vintage 3.5-inch floppy disks, individually selected from Smith’s extensive studio archive, and a custom-cut aluminum center disc. Layers of painting, printing and mixed media transform these obsolete technologies into a single finished work.

Close-up of the reimagined Abbey Road album center label from Taylor Smith's Vinyl Series mixed-media painting constructed from vintage 3.5-inch floppy disks.

Every painting in The Vinyl Series is meticulously handcrafted in Taylor Smith’s studio. Working from an archive of thousands of vintage 3.5-inch floppy disks, Smith selects individual disks for their color, graphics, typography, handwritten markings and traces of previous use. The resulting surfaces reveal subtle changes in texture, light and color as the viewer moves around the work—an experience that cannot be fully appreciated through photographs alone.

At the heart of every painting is an original reinterpretation of an iconic record label. Rather than reproducing historic album artwork, each center label is thoughtfully reimagined and recreated from the ground up through original graphic design. Precision-cut aluminum, raised dimensional printing, and carefully balanced matte and gloss finishes create a tactile surface that echoes the visual language of classic vinyl records while remaining unmistakably original.

Every painting is assembled by hand and no two works are identical. From across the room, the artwork evokes the unmistakable identity of a familiar album. Up close, ninety individually placed floppy disks, dimensional surfaces and handcrafted details reveal themselves, rewarding careful observation.

The Story Behind the Series

Every generation has its soundtrack.

Taylor Smith studio work table with hand painted vintage floppy disks which will be used to create her vinyl series record album paintings

Certain albums become inseparable from the moments that define our lives — the people we loved, the places we lived, the road trips we took, and the milestones that shaped us. Long after we forget where we left our keys or what we had for dinner last week, a familiar song can instantly transport us back to another place and another time.

The Vinyl Series was born from that extraordinary relationship between music and memory.

The series brings together two technologies that transformed how we experience music and information. The vinyl record represents ritual, artistry, and the emotional experience of listening. The floppy disk represents the dawn of personal computing and the digital revolution that forever changed the way we create, store, and share our lives.

Both objects were once considered everyday technology. Today, each has become a powerful cultural artifact. By uniting them within a single artwork, the series creates a conversation between analog and digital, permanence and obsolescence, nostalgia and innovation.

Ultimately, The Vinyl Series is about far more than music. It is about memory, craftsmanship, technological evolution, and the objects that quietly accompany our lives before becoming symbols of an entire generation. Through these paintings, familiar albums become new visual experiences, inviting viewers to rediscover the music — and perhaps a part of themselves — with every closer look.