Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye is a painter based in Brooklyn, NY who creates portraits of imaginary figures from found objects in muted tones, typically completing each canvas in a single day while prioritizing mood and atmosphere over narrative.

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye paints portraits of imaginary subjects drawn from found objects, rendered in muted colours. She examines the formal mechanisms of painting itself, creating figures intentionally removed from time and place. When asked who her subjects are and where they exist, she reframes the question: "What are they?" Working quickly and typically completing canvases in a single day, she focuses on mood, character, and atmosphere rather than narrative. Writing is central to her practice—she has explained "I write about the things I can't paint and paint the things I can't write about." Her work has contributed to the renaissance in painting the Black figure.