Mickey Boyd （https://mickeyoboyd.wordpress.com/）
The Liu Shiming Art Foundation proudly announces the newest recipient of the
Liu Shiming Scholars Fund, recent MFA sculpture graduate Mickey Boyd. A student of Georgia University’s Lamar Dodd School of Art, Boyd is a multimedia artist with an extensive background as a metalworker, woodworker, curator, and multimedia sculptor. His unconventional and imaginative use of materials, satirical voice and mastery of various creative mediums are just a few of the characteristics which distinguish his work.
Boyd’s work in a recent collaborative exhibition entitled Waste Creation.
In 2014, Boyd received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Metropolitan State University of Denver, during which time he discovered his deep connection to the sculptural discipline. Influenced in large part by his upbringing in the wide expanse of the Southern Rocky mountains of Colorado, Boyd’s work traverses the divide between the rural environs of his youth, and his experience living as a tradesperson in a big city. “In my practice,” says Boyd, “I explode, warp and showcase the substructure of the contemporary built environment predicated on the convoluted and byzantine methods of late-stage capitalism.” Boyd’s work often reflects anxiety about the state of the world; in a recent collaborative exhibition entitled Waste Creation, Boyd explored the proliferation of man made constructs (either real or perceived), the unceasing spread of ideas and information, and the ever increasing fact of pollution and consequent environmental changes. Since graduating with his BFA, Boyd has proven his initiative to hone his creative practice by continuing to showcase his work both as a student and as an independent artist.
The Liu Shiming Scholars Fund supporting artist Mickey Boyd
The Director of Galleries at the Lamar Dodd School of Art Katie Geha, during her speech at the Liu Shiming exhibition and scholarship reception, fondly introduced Mickey as her student. Geha shared that “Mickey works hard in his studio and equally extends himself to the community of the art school, whether that is organizing exhibitions out of his truck, mentoring students, or thinking deeply about the politics of the built environment and how it affects everyday people.” Nominated for Liu Shiming Scholars Fund by the director of the Lamar Dodd School of Art, Mickey Boyd is undoubtedly a celebrated and integral member of his program. Describing his connection to the late artist Liu Shiming and his sculptural style, Boyd expressed that “primarily what seemed the most interesting was that he concentrated on very average people, the common person and their daily life.” Explaining further, Boyd remarked that Shiming’s work reflected “the voice of someone who combines tradition with the momentum of the now, and sort of trying to find places where those can meet and mingle.”
Mickey Boyd, Housing Complex.
Boyd plans to continue to explore these themes on a larger scale, making use of architectural materials to widen the scope of his practice. In an interview with the Liu Shiming Foundation, Mickey shared, “my future goal is to continue making and showing artwork and to teach in academia, and I think that this will help to allow me to complete my thesis work.” “With this grant,” Boyd continued, “I’ve been able to relax that part of me that is worried about the financial impact of this work on my life.”
Written by Emma Alcorn
Edited by Yimeng Sun
Monday, February 6th
Photo credites: The LiuShiming Art Foundation