This Black Gay Artist Unapologetically Makes Black, Gay Portraits

OUT MAGAZINE
By Trevel Anderson

“I really don't care about the white gaze at all,” Jarvis Boyland said.

There’s something different about Jarvis Boyland’s work. Walking the exhibition rooms of Los Angeles’ Kohn Gallery — where Boyland’s “On Hold:” exhibit is on view through Thursday, May 23 — I was arrested by his portraits of Black queer men. Though simple and straightforward, there’s a complexity in the color story, particularly in his subject’s skin tones. They were rich and nuanced and complex, both imagined and realistic, and unlike any paintings I’ve come into contact with. Three days later, I shared these observations with the artist-in-residence at University of Chicago over the phone. “I think Black flesh is so complex,” he said, “and it's so beautiful.” “Jarvis Boyland: On Hold:” is the Memphis native’s first solo exhibition and includes a suite of new paintings.[More]