Paintings

At first glance Boyan’s paintings seem to be the contemporary link in a long tradition of portrait paintings: semi-formal portraits of couples at home, the artist in his studio and people in settings which have an air of leisure and money: the country club, by the private pool or in the living room. The figures are anchored in reality as real people, some are from Boyan’s social circle, others are figures from popular culture like the fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld of iconic film characters. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the paintings aren’t portraits in the acceptable sense of the genre. Stylish, young, cool – the figures in the paintings block any psychological analysis or intimate familiarity, and are busy in self presentation, fixing the viewer’s gaze to the surface. Armed with fashion accessories such as sunglasses, hats, and bright clothes, and painted in a direct flat manner, the painted figures become inseparable from their surroundings; the figure merges into the painting as a part of the background.