Shary Boyle

Shary Boyle (born May 26, 1972 in Scarborough, Ontario) is a Canadian artist who works with sculpture, painting, drawing and performance. She lives in Toronto.

Early life and education

Boyle was born in Scarborough, Ontario, the youngest of five children. Her father worked repairing screen and glass doors. She attended high school at Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts, then went on to post-secondary studies at the Ontario College of Art, graduating in 1994.

Art career

Shary Boyle works in many media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, and performance art. Her work tends to explore themes of gender and class, evoking and exploring emotional states through exquisite craftsmanship. She is particularly known for her explorations of the figure through porcelain figurines.

Boyle has performed at a number of venues including VonRot GmbH, Berlin (2001), the All Tomorrow's Parties festival, Los Angeles (2002), the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (2004, 2006), the Olympia Theatre, Paris (2005), the Fonal Festival, Finland (2005), the Sonar Festival, Barcelona (2005), and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2006, 2008). In addition, her work has been exhibited widely since 2000. In 2006, her work, Untitled 2004, was featured in a solo exhibition at the Power Plant in Toronto. Two years later, the Southern Alberta Art Gallery showcased her work in an exhibition, and in 2010, Boyle's solo exhibition Flesh and Blood opened at the Art Gallery of Ontario. This exhibition was a joint venture between the AGO, Galerie de l’UQAM and the Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery. It was curated by Louise Déry. Boyle represented Canada at the 2013 Venice Biennale with her project Music for Silence. In 2014, Boyle was lead faculty on The Universe and Other Systems residency at The Banff Centre.