Tim Okamura
Tim Okamura (born 1968 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Japanese Canadian artist known for his contemporary realist portraits that combine graffiti and realism.
His work has been on the cover of Time Magazine and has been featured in several major motion pictures.
Okamura's paintings are featured in major permanent collections around the world such as London's National Portrait Gallery and Washington DC's National Portrait Gallery.
He was also one of several artists to be shortlisted in 2006 for a proposed portrait of Queen Elizabeth of England.
in Illustration as Visual Journalism, Okamura moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he still resides.
His work has been shown in several prominent group exhibitions, including After Matisse/Picasso at the MOMA PS.1 in Queens, New York, as well as the BP Portrait Awards Exhibition at London's National Portrait Gallery.
Okamura was invited to The White House in 2015 to honor artists whose work addresses issues of social justice, and received a letter of commendation from President Joe Biden.
In 2021, the New York Historical Society acquired his 2021 painting Nurse Tracey, which was featured in the exhibition Dreaming Together.
Okamura - a recipient of the 2004 Fellowship in Painting from the New York Foundation for the Arts – has also had his paintings featured in several films including Pieces of April (InDiGent), School of Rock (Paramount), Jersey Girl (Miramax), and most prominently in Prime (Universal), a romantic comedy about a young New York painter starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep.
Okamura's work is also notable in Ethan Hawke’s The Hottest State.
Tim Okamura’s art is on display in the permanent collections at the Toronto Congress Center, Beaverbrook Public Art Gallery, The New York Historical Society, The National Portrait Gallery, The Hotel Arts in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and Standard Chartered Bank in London, England.
It is also featured in the private collections of Uma Thurman, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson (The Roots), Spike Lee, John Mellencamp, Ben Younger, and actors Bryan Greenberg, Vanessa Marcil, Annabella Sciorra and Ethan Hawke.
Tim Okamura investigates identity, the urban environment, metaphor, and cultural iconography through a unique method of painting.
The juxtaposition of the rawness and urgency of street art and academic ideals has created a visual language that acknowledges a traditional form of story-telling through portraiture, while infusing the work with resonant contemporary motifs.
Print 2023 "O'Ree to be honored with portrait in New Brunswick hometown Wednesday" 01 January 2023 NHL https://www.nhl.com/news/willie-oree-to-be-honored-with-portrait-in-hometown-of-new-brunswick/c-340023474 2022 "Set Against a Backdrop of World Events, Tim Okamura’s Bold Portraits Emanate Commanding Energy" 07 July 2022 https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2022/07/tim-okamura-portraits/ 2021 "Painting Bravery: A portrait artist tries to capture the remarkable spirit of nurses on the front lines of the pandemic" 02 June 2021 The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/06/02/painting-nurses-height-pandemic-portrait-artist-learns-what-it-is-depict-bravery/ "Curator Confidential: Explore Our New Acquisition "Nurse Tracey" 17 July 2021.
"Truth and Redistribution: How to Fix the Racial Wealth Gap, End Plutocracy, and Build Black Power."
"Edmonton-raised Artist Tim Okamura Creates Portrait Series Honouring Health-care Workers."
"Dynamic Paintings Fuse Realism with Rawness to Depict Empowering Portraits of Women."
"New York Academy of Art's 2020 Hamptons Exhibition to Reflect Upon the Past and Look Towards the Future."
"Striking Portraits Featuring Powerful Women of Color Painted by Artist Tim Okamura."
"Meet Tim Okamura- An Artist Finding Inspiration in Everyday New Yorkers."
"Tim Okamura’s Show ‘Love, Strength, & Soul’ is an Ode to African American Women."
"Painter Tim Okamura Offers an Urban Narrative in Two Exhibitions."
"Exclusive Interview X Photos: The Heavyweight Painters talk Hip-Hop, Art and Boxing.
"Art review : Treasured Places / BP Portrait Award 2008."
"TIM OKAMURA, Urban Portraits and Brooklyn Mythology, May 18–28, 2006, Axis Contemporary Art, Calgary."
"Edmonton’s Big-Screen Artist: Clients Include Eminem, Hollywood Blockbusters."
"Albertan has Become a Painter to the Stars: Tim Okamura’s Art Appears in Several Major Films."
"Park Raised Artist Takes A Bite Off the Big Apple."
