LATEEFAH RUFF Taylor
Visual Artist & Storyteller Founder, Ruff Petals ARTIST IN RESIDENCE SEASON ONE
“ Even in the harshest conditions, we are capable of blooming”
lateefah ruff
taylor
VISUAL ARTIST. MIXED MEDIA. PORTRAITURE. ABSTRACTION.
BORN NEWARK, NEW JERSEY
BASED NORTH CAROLINA · 23 YEARS
FOUNDER RUFF PETALS
SEASON ONE 2026
Lateefah Ruff Taylor is a visual artist, storyteller, and founder of Ruff Petals. Born and Raised in Newark, New Jersey and rooted in North Carolina for over two decades, her work explores what it means to survive heal, and bloom in places where growth was never guranteed.
Drawing from personal experiences with loss, resilience, faith family and transformation, Taylor creates work that bridges the space between individual stories and collective experiences. Through portraiture, abstraction and mixed media, she examines themes of identity, culture, mental wellness, hope and the beauty that can emerge from adversity.
“After stepping away from painting for more than sixteen years, Taylor returned to art and discovered it was not simply something she loved —it was something that helped save her.”
Today, her work invites viewers to see themselves reflected in the canvas, their struggles, their healing, their strength, and their becoming. Survival, in Taylor’s hands, is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of transformation.
founders note
The Parlour on Parrish was built to hold more than events — it was built to hold stories. When we envisioned the space, we knew art had to be a part of its heartbeat. Lateefah’s work stopped us in our tracks. It does what what the best art always does —it makes you feel seen. She is exactly who we wanted on these walls as we open our doors to Durham.
— Cedrika & Natelege, Founders of the Parlour on Parrish