Cover Artist: Blake Boyd

Master of Icons and Mediums: Blake Boyd’s Triumphant Return to the New Orleans Art World

By: Cayman Clevenger

Photos By: Laura Steffan

Disney and Star Wars are in Blake Boyd’s blood, as is his art—literally. He paints these iconic subjects in a myriad of mediums, sometimes using his own blood, infusing his work with a deeply personal and unique connection to the themes he explores.

For Boyd, these subjects hold deeper meanings; he draws parallels between his life and the protagonists of his favorite films. In Boyd’s New Orleans home, an imposing portrait rendered in blood on a stark white clay background features the iconic helmet of Darth Vader. “A portrait of my father,” he tells me with a smirk. Boyd panalogizes his own life to that of Luke Skywalker, his father, the redeemed Vader, and the Emperor? That is Boyd’s secret to tell.

Boyd has led a remarkable life, becoming something of a Forrest Gump of the art world, always managing to be in the most interesting place with the most important people at exactly the right time.

Shortly after his 16th birthday, Boyd, who grew up in Slidell, went to Hollywood to get discovered, aiming to become the literal protagonist in movies, and turn his passion for film into a career. In his first days in Los Angeles, Boyd met and photographed Johnny Carson. This first portrait of Carson, taken by a teenage Boyd, launched his career in art photography and inspired a number of projects, including “The Photobooth Projects,” “The Polaroid Projects,” and the critically acclaimed “Louisiana Cereal” series. For Louisiana Cereal, Boyd would go on to meet and photograph over 600 important New Orleanians and even captured Brad Pitt at the height of his fame in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Boyd recently moved back to New Orleans after living in London for the last decade. However, he isn’t new to the New Orleans art scene. In fact, Boyd, a native Louisianian, is steeped in and helped define the lively contemporary art scene of the City.

After Boyd’s short-lived, week-long stint in Hollywood, Boyd returned home when the father of Louisiana contemporary art, George Dunbar, came calling. Boyd’s own father, who studied art in college and had served as a studio assistant to Dunbar for five years before going into construction, asked Boyd to return home because he had a life-changing surprise for him. Boyd thought the surprise was an antique MG he had been eyeing as a first car. Instead, Dunbar offered Boyd a position as his apprentice, and for the next 15 years, Boyd’s life and work were intertwined with Dunbar’s, helping him render the gilded and clay-painted masterpieces for which Dunbar earned critical acclaim.

Under Dunbar, Boyd perfected the fine art of gilding, and make no mistake, Boyd is a perfectionist. Indeed, the gold and palladium leaf with underlying layers of clay seen in Boyd’s work have their origins in Dunbar’s studio. However, the styles of the two artists, their subjects, work, and indeed their lives, could not be more different.

Even while working with Dunbar, Boyd advanced his own artistic projects and was an impressive artist in his own right with a wide ranging media, from photography and videography, to performance and fine art. Boyd’s first Gallery show, at the age of 19, was in the Miriam Walmsley Gallery on North Peters. One year later, at age 20, he began to show at the storied Hall-Barnett Gallery on Exchange Place, which once served as the studio and gallery of famed Louisiana artist Alexander John Drysdale.

Boyd managed to meet his artistic heroes, even becoming the subject of artwork by his mentor, one of the most well-known artists in the world, Andres Serrano. Serrano is best known for his depiction of a crucifix photographed in his own urine known as Immersion (Piss Christ), a provocative piece meant to evoke the serious and grotesque nature of the crucifixion.

Boyd met Serrano at a benefit at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, and they began a friendship that has included years of collaboration and a mutual love of collecting Renaissance furniture, which now provides a glorious juxtaposition to Boyd’s work in his New Orleans home.

Serrano participated in gallery shows with Boyd, and Boyd, as a subject of Serrano’s work, was plastered on billboards and promotional materials around the world. In that way, Boyd had become the protagonist of his adolescent dreams, photographed by arguably one of the most important fine art photographers to ever live.

Boyd is a student of Andy Warhol and the pop art movement as much as he is a student of Dunbar and Serrano. Although he never had the opportunity to meet Warhol—whose studio, dubbed “The Factory,” served as a meeting place for visual artists, musicians, and celebrities of all kinds—Boyd was introduced to and spent time with the Factory’s illustrious manager Billy Name through Taylor Mead, the subject of many of Warhol’s works. Boyd and Name became fast friends and bonded over their expertise in running a studio. Name, Mead, and other notable Factory alumni became the subjects of Boyd’s work, with each traveling to Louisiana to be photographed by Boyd and styled for his “Photo Booth Projects,” a series of innovative portraits capturing the essence of his subjects through candid photography, staged absurdity, videography, and themed gallery openings.

Boyd’s work manages to transcend his artistic mentor’s styles while paying homage to the best of their artistic influences. Boyd’s artwork stands as a compelling testament to the fusion of pop culture and personal expression, offering viewers a provocative lens through which to explore familiar cultural icons.

Boyd manages to pick up where Warhol left off, informed by ancient artistic methods that pre-date the Renaissance. Boyd renders subjects that defy conventions of beauty, juxtaposing the beautiful with the shocking, the innocent with the profane.

Boyd deftly navigates the landscape of contemporary pop culture, weaving iconic imagery with deeply personal and sometimes unsettling themes. His works often feature instantly recognizable figures such as Disney characters and Star Wars heroes, recontextualized in ways that challenge the viewer’s perceptions. This clever subversion transforms the familiar into something introspective and thought-provoking. By rendering Snow White in his own blood against a stark white background, he forces the viewer to examine mortality while facing the ageless and iconic Disney princess.

Blood was traditionally used in the gilding process, and gilding was a medium employed primarily by the Catholic Church, royalty, and religious entities across the world. By rendering the icons of pop culture in blood and gold, Boyd shows both reverence for the subjects, elevating them to the status of a religion, while also connecting with something deeply personal and vulnerable in his art. The use of blood introduces a raw, corporeal element that contrasts sharply with the often whimsical or fantastical subjects he portrays.

Boyd also utilizes elements of street art, including graffiti, with bold, stylized letters and tagging with gilding and iconography to create a uniquely modern and spontaneous tableau. His works challenge conventional art forms while melding the best elements of old-world artistic beauty with the most cutting-edge expressions of individualism and artistic technical skill.

Aesthetically, Boyd’s work oscillates between vibrant, saturated colors and more muted, somber tones, reflecting the duality of his thematic explorations. He engages with themes of identity, nostalgia, and the intersection of personal history with broader cultural narratives. By embedding elements of his own life and experiences into his work, Boyd invites viewers to consider the complex interplay between the public and the private, the real and the imagined.

Boyd’s art challenges the viewer to confront their own connections to the cultural icons he depicts as he explores his own relationships with those subjects. Through his innovative approach and bold use of materials, Boyd not only redefines the boundaries of portraiture and pop art but also elevates the conversation around the role of the artist as both creator and commentator. His work is a dialogue—a constant negotiation between the past and present, the individual and the collective, the ordinary and the extraordinary, the iconic and the inconspicuous.

Boyd has not created a new painting in a decade. This artistic hiatus coincides with the diagnosis of early-onset dementia in the love of his life, Ginette Bone. A brilliant architect and professor, Bone has been much more than a life partner to Boyd; she has been his muse, his biggest fan, his Gallery Director, and a collaborator who profoundly influenced his world. Their romance served as the inspiration for Boyd’s wildly popular Swan series, which explores the inseparability of swans, who mate for life.

Bone’s diagnosis marked a turning point in Boyd’s life and work. The creative synergy that once fueled his artistic endeavors was deeply intertwined with their shared experiences and mutual inspirations. Her illness has created an emotional and artistic void, leaving Boyd to navigate the challenges of caregiving while grappling with the cognitive loss of his creative companion.

The impact on Boyd’s life has been profound. His focus shifted from painting to supporting Bone through her journey, dedicating his time and energy to ensuring her well-being. This period has been one of introspection and adaptation, forcing Boyd to confront the fragility of memory and identity—themes that were once central to his work.

While Boyd’s brushes have remained untouched, his life has been filled with a different kind of creation: nurturing the bond between himself and Bone. In doing so, he continues to find inspiration in the quiet strength and enduring love they share, even as they face the challenges of her illness together. This experience has reshaped his perspective, offering a deeper understanding of the complexities of life, love, and art.

Even as he manages Bone’s condition, Boyd’s artistic career is poised for a remarkable comeback. His triumphant return to the Boyd Satellite gallery during White Linen Night, 2024, made him the art darling of New Orleans and the must-see show of the evening. Friends of the artist, including acclaimed artist Aron Belka and Jillian Gibson, donated their time to hang the visually stunning show, which Boyd titled, tongue-in-cheek, “Works from the Museum Collection: 1991-2014.”

The show became the talk of the town, drawing both art enthusiasts and critics, who hailed it with glowing acclaim. This event marked Boyd’s return to the New Orleans art scene and his departure, at least temporarily, from the UK, Bone’s birthplace, which the two had called home for nearly a decade. His gallery representation with Saladino Gallery, in Historic Downtown Covington, has renewed excitement about Boyd’s potential resurgence as a creator.

With his canvases ready, Boyd speaks with renewed enthusiasm about diving back into his art, hinting at future works that might even feature iconic figures like the mouse himself. This renewed passion and creativity herald a new chapter for Boyd, promising fresh contributions to the already vibrant artistic tapestry of New Orleans and the greater art world.

Boyd’s artwork is a dynamic and challenging exploration of cultural identity and personal expression, masterfully blending the familiar with the unexpected to invite reflection and provoke thought. His unique approach to both medium and subject matter positions him as a significant figure in contemporary art, one whose work resonates with audiences seeking deeper connections to the icons that shape our cultural landscape.

Blake Boyd’s art is a testament to the power of blending personal history with cultural icons, creating works that challenge and engage viewers on multiple levels. His use of unconventional materials like his own blood, red wine, smooth clay under high gloss, and graffiti combined with ancient gilding techniques underscores the profound personal connection he has to his subjects.

As Boyd navigates new personal and artistic challenges, his return to the art world promises a comeback unlike anything the southern art scene has seen, reminding us all of the transformative power of art and the beauty it reveals in our lives.

You can view and purchase Boyd’s work at Saladino Gallery, saladinogallery.com, or visit blakeboyd.com.