Home Artist Programs Supported Artists Hakeem Olayinka

Hakeem Olayinka

Brooklyn, New York

The brow ridge, eyes, and nose that fill this square Untitled painting are created entirely in tones of red except the dark brown of the irises and pupils and the white sclera. The person’s fingers cover much of the space above and below the eyes, resting on the face so the ring fingers almost touch. The fingernails are flat bubblegum pink.

Untitled

2025

A person with brown skin stands in front of a orange brick background in this painting Look at the guy outside with the Orange suit. Shown from the waist up, the person’s face is mostly covered by a flat yellow balaclava and wears a an orange blazer over a patterned shirt and tie. Behind them, is a window opening, and a person with brown skin peeks out through black horizontal blinds.

Look at the guy outside with the Orange suit

2024

They’re primary is a sculptural installation made up of 18 wood planks, each painted in a single shade of yellow, blue, red, or pink, that lean against a gallery wall. The planks vary in height from almost ceiling-high to just taller than the low stanchion that cordons them off. One or two eyes are painted on each plank at different heights.

They’re primary

2022

This piece, at the end of the day, shows a person lying back on mint-green cushions with most of their body covered with a white blanket. The person’s skin is brown except for parts of one hand lying atop the blanket. The person’s face is covered in a flat white mask, and their head wrapped in a red cloth.

At the end of the Day

2021

Red Room

2018

Leave Me Alone

2018

Just Walking Here

2018

Masked Date

2018

Artworks shown are selected from works submitted by the artist in their grant or residency application. All works are copyright of the artist or artist’s estate.

About Hakeem Olayinka

Hakeem Olayinka looks at us with a hint of a smile in a studio corner. He sits at a table with painting supplies, with 3 paintbrushes clasped in his hands. He is a Black man with black hair tucked into a tall pink and black checkered hat. He wears a white buttoned shirt with light blue satin pants with swirling black lines.

Hakeem Olayinka is a Nigerian-American painter and sculptor born in Washington, DC. Hakeem began his art education at the Duke Ellington School of Art in 2011. In 2019, he received his BFA in Painting and Drawing from SUNY Purchase School of Art and Design. Hakeem has participated in many group exhibitions throughout the New York metropolitan area, including an exhibition at Sugar Hill Children's Museum in Harlem. He has also exhibited at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. He currently works and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Program Participation

Early Art Practitioners Residency, 2019

Joan Mitchell Center Residency, 2026

Website / Social Links

“ Influences ranging from anime to fine art inform my practice, grounded in storytelling, self-reflection, and cultural exploration. Through painting, I aim to create worlds that honor my personal history while engaging in a larger conversation about identity, visibility, and the power of image-making.”

Related Journal Entries

Announcing the 2019 Early Art Practitioners Residency & Council Participants

The Joan Mitchell Foundation is pleased to announce the 2019 participants in two...