16 x 12

oil on canvas

Tim Okamura investigates identity, the urban environment, metaphor and cultural iconography through painting. By combining an essentially “realist” approach to the figure with collage, spray paint and mixed media, he juxtaposes the rawness and urgency of street art with academic ideals to create a visual language that acknowledges a traditional form of storytelling through portraiture, while infusing the work with resonant contemporary motifs. 

 Okamura received an invitation to The White House in 2015 to honor artists whose work addresses issues of social justice and received a letter of commendation from Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden. His work was included in a traveling exhibition by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in 2016 and several of Okamura’s works were featured prominently in the, “Still I Rise” exhibition at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in 2020. Most recently, his "Healthcare Heroes" series honoring frontline healthcare workers heroic efforts during the pandemic was featured in a cover story for The Washington Post magazine. A painting from the series, "Nurse Tracey" was acquired by the New York Historical Society Museum for their permanent collection