This artist has a rather unique approach to form for her artwork as she uses designer handbags as a canvas. Boyarde fans get to take their personalised artwork, on a bag, jacket, wallet and embody its vibe to the fullest. The internationally acclaimed British artist and photographer is also known for embracing hand painting onto ‘unusual canvases’ such the female body, murals, as well as luxury fashion accessories.
Boyarde brings ideas to life by using the colourful Pop idiom to re-contextualise familiar images from popular culture that are lodged in the subconscious. Taking an existing narrative, she reinterprets the familiar with an injection of Boyarde wit and mischievousness. Whether on a luxury handbag or a motorbike, her strong, yet elegant black lines mean her work ‘pops’ from any surface. Whether painting on a Birkin or a body, each piece takes hours of preparation and painting time to achieve the highest possible quality of work.
Known as the artist with no canvas, Boyarde paints on ‘anything but paper.’ This mentality stemmed from her time in Belize, where she became fascinated by painting directly on to the female body, finding a way to create a narrative from the canvas she worked on. Fixated on female empowerment and scopophilia – the pleasure of gazing at the female form – her nude painting and photography sought to break down the stigma attached to nudity in the female form.
Her embracing of the unconventional canvas continued when she painted 100 pairs of Charlotte Olympia shoes for Art Basel in 2012.
The fashion world then discovered her, and her audience was soon made up of those who didn’t want art on its wall, but wanted to wear it. Boyarde’s organic transition to a new canvas led to a multitude of collaborations with fashion brands that included Charlotte Olympia but also Smythson, Selfridges to name a few. You can check out her beautifully kitsch designs and current projects on her Instagram.