Softness and stillness are key elements in Jarvis Boyland’s moving art. The Tennessee-raised and Los Angeles-based visual artist breathes life into drawings and paintings that tell stories of Black queer men simply occupying the simplicity of everyday life. With an MFA from UCLA and a BFA from the University of Memphis, Boyland’s work earned him the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant and residencies at the Tamarind Institute, Fountainhead, and Arts + Public Life (APL) at the University of Chicago. Boyland’s artistry lights up galleries in LA, New York, Chicago, and his home state of Tennessee, where his portraiture helps expand the artistic narratives in which Black queer men are seen. In 2025, Boyland’s work was featured in the group exhibition land marks at Pace Gallery in LA and at the Mamoth Gallery solo exhibition Bad Attitude in the UK.