Yeelen Gallery presents Love, Strength, & Soul, a series of works by Brooklyn-based portrait artist, Tim Okamura.

Known for his hyper-realistic, large-scale portraits of African-American women, the artist will present both as-yet-unseen new pieces alongside more familiar works, functioning as an introductory whirlwind to Okamura’s oeuvre. Employing a traditional painting style interwoven with contemporary elements, Okamura pays homage to graffiti, components of his Brooklyn community, and the subjects’ psychology. While each portrait is uniquely individual, they speak to the humanity within the subject and the viewer.

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in 1968, Okamura earned a B.F.A. with Distinction at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, Canada, before receiving an M.F.A. in Illustration as Visual Journalism from the School of Visual Arts in 1993. He has had his work featured in P.S. 1, the BP Portrait Awards Exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery, Koki Arts in Tokyo, Japan, and multifarious spaces worldwide. He received a Fellowship in Painting from the New York Foundation for the Arts in 2004, and his work can be found in the private collections of Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Bryan Greenberg, and Uma Thurman.