Lyle XOX – The face as canvas

Makeup and mixed media artist Lyle Reimer (Lyle XOX) has become a sensation for his self-portraits, created using entirely found and recycled objects. The Canadian artist’s “facial collages” turn him into a living sculpture.

NOTE: See a documentary about Lyle XOX in another Art Junkie post, here.

He’s an Instagram sensation and Vogue magazine recently named him one of the top 100 people around the world who are pushing the boundaries of art, beauty and style.

Lyle XOX is on exhibition Sept. 7 through Oct. 14 at  Liquidity Wines in British Columbia.

The portraits fuse inspiration from high fashion with the mundane objects of everyday life, turning beauty on its head, he says.

“For me, it is not about Drag, female impersonation or living the life of a New York City clubkid. It has always been and continues to be about the art. My face as a canvas.” – LyleXOX

Lyle XOX has collaborated with brands such as Pepsi and Gucci, and his work has been featured in dozens of publications, including the New York Times and Vogue Italia. His first book, out this year, was designed by the renowned art director Fabien Baron (Above left: Lyle XOX Head of Design book).

Lyle XOX is a Blanche Macdonald Makeup graduate (Vancouver) who worked for 16 years as a MAC makeup trainer. He now prefers to drop the “makeup” part of his identity as an artist, saying “although I use makeup as a vehicle to get from point A to point B, it’s not the main source of transportation.”

Lyle XOX Instagram, here.