Max Boyla (b. 1991) is an artist based in London, where he graduated at the Royal Academy Schools in 2023.
Adhering to a tradition that perceives painting as an art of illusion, Boyla's creations can be seen as residing in an enduring state of ambiguity. Here, the concrete and tangible world intermingles with the everlasting and imaginative. Reappearing characters provide a comforting sense of familiarity as they navigate a foreign realm devoid of temporal or geographical markers. In his more recent pieces, Boyla has turned to the tropes of advertising to investigate fictional landscapes that hit closer to home - realms saturated with boundless promises and an unquenchable yearning for an ideal that inherently remains elusive. Across all of his work, he poses a central question: when the difference between real and unreal is so blurred, where does that leave our sense of being in the world?
Boyla recently presented a solo exhibition, 'Slow Motion,' at Des Bains in London (2023). Recent group shows include; 'Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me' at Berntson Bhattacharjee in London (2023); 'Silvers in the Void' at Mamoth in London (2023); 'Tic Tac Toe' at APT Gallery in London (2023); 'Royal Academy Schools Show' at Royal Academy of Art in London (2023); 'Add More Fuel To Your Life' at Sim Smith in London (2023); 'Some Kind of Delicacy' at Hello Goodbye Gallery in London (2022); 'Saxifrage' at Kupfer in London (2022); 'Inside Out' at The Artist Room in London (2022); 'Dream Baby Dream (Paint Talk)' at The Fitzrovia Gallery in London (2022); and 'Premiums Interim 1' at The Royal Academy of Arts in London (2022).