Shary Boyle (1972) is a contemporary Canadian visual artist working in the mediums of sculpture using the medium of ceramics, drawing, painting and performance art. She lives and works in Toronto.
Boyle was born in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario, the youngest of five children. She attended Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts high school where she studied art and music theatre, then went on to post-secondary studies at the Ontario College of Art, graduating in 1994. She was involved in the Toronto punk and hardcore music scene in her high school and early college years, singing in a band. Her early interest in music and performance incorporated costume, poster and T-shirt design and the creation and free distribution of small photocopied 'zines. Her earliest 'zines and drawings were compiled in the compilation publication "Witness My Shame" (Conundrum Press, 2004). Between 1998-2006 Boyle supplemented her art practice of drawing and painting through published illustration.
In 1998, she began to work with a synthetic polymer clay called Sculpey. Doll maker Vivian Hausle in Seattle in 2002 taught her to understand the medium of porcelain as well as lace draping, a technique for filigrees in lace.
Boyle works across media and genres, and is known for her representational and narrative symbolism that is personal and at times disturbing. Her work explores themes of gender, identity, sexuality, power and class, evoking emotional and psychic resonance through craftsmanship. She is particularly known for her explorations of the figure through porcelain sculpture. Boyle's earliest porcelain 'figurine' series (2002-2006) used commercial molds and traditional porcelain lace techniques to create sculptures that mined the historical relationship between decoration and excessive ornamentation as it relates to women and gender issues. The series was introduced in a solo exhibition at the Power Plant in Toronto called Lace Figures, curated by Reid Sheir, 2006. Boyle's early experiments with porcelain and her subversion of female hobby-craft from kitsch to contemporary art is credited with reviving porcelain and ceramics as a contemporary art medium in the early 2000s in Toronto, bridging a class divide and questioning the hierarchy between 'low' and 'high' art.
In addition to her sculpture and performance work, Boyle performs with musicians, creating shadow vignettes and "live" drawings, which are animated and projected onstage using vintage overhead projectors. In 2006, Boyle was invited to perform at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles in a show titled A Night with Kramers Ergot, where she presented a live solo performance in costume with a curated soundtrack.
Boyle's work is included in many public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, and the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.[6] She worked exclusively with the Toronto contemporary commercial art gallery Jessica Bradley Art + Projects from 2007 until she left to become independent in 2014
© 2026. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Shary Boyl or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
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| Ms. Shary Boyle |
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| Raspberry |
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| Two Ladies |
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| Orchid |
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| Inverted Fetish |
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| Write |
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| The Sculptor |
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| The Sculptor |
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| Primary Dot |
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| Baptiste |
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| Trumpet |
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| Clowness |
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| Chaplin |
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| Civilizing Influence |
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| Museum Nights |
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| Museum Nights |
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| Red Shoes, Fake News |
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| Columbine |
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| Columbine |
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| The Warming |
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| Bravo |
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| Red Rope |
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| All sorts |
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| Thin Red Line |
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| The Potter |
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| Black Basket |
Beautiful work. Very talented.
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