April 18, 2025
When Eyenga Bokamba speaks about her work, you don’t just hear an artist talking about paint—you hear a deeper conversation between creativity, identity, and community. The Minneapolis-based multidisciplinary artist has built a career on abstraction, using layers of acrylic, watercolor, calligraphy ink, and mixed media to explore the nuances of being.
Rooted in both personal experience and cultural inquiry, Bokamba’s work is as much about reflection as it is about invitation. Her abstract compositions beckon viewers to linger in ambiguity, imagine joy as resistance, and find presence in layered expression. One of her painting series is even titled Adjacent to Happiness.
“Art keeps us productive, focused, hopeful,” she said. “It’s perhaps the best vehicle to be, as one of my painting series is named: ‘adjacent to happiness.’”
Bokamba will showcase her latest work during Art-A-Whirl, May 16–18, at the California Building in Northeast Minneapolis—an event that consistently draws art lovers into her orbit.
A journey in layers
A graduate of both Harvard and the University of Minnesota, Bokamba brings a rare mix of intellectual depth and intuitive grace to her practice. Her pieces often feature translucent washes and bold gestures that reflect the complexity of navigating layered identities and histories.
“I’m most drawn to abstraction as a means of expressing the complexity of identity, politics, relationships, and my understanding of the world,” Bokamba said. “I work in layers because that’s how I see life—it’s rarely just one thing.”
Art rooted in community
For Bokamba, art isn’t just a mode of expression—it’s a vehicle for connection. Her studio has become a welcoming space for collectors, creatives, and neighbors. Over time, she’s witnessed a powerful cycle of engagement—children who first came in wide-eyed now return as adults, building collections of their own.
“This is the amazing truth about the privilege of being an artist grounded in a specific community,” she said. “Getting the opportunity to pass time with people as invested in the arts community as I am—that’s the real reward.”
A vision beyond the canvas
Beyond her work as a painter, Bokamba is deeply engaged in public life, civic leadership, and experiential education. Her commitment to “resourcing choice, voice, and joy” is evident in every setting she enters—whether in the studio, a classroom, or a boardroom.
Eyenga Bokamba’s art doesn’t just live on the wall. It pulses with purpose, reshapes conversations, and reminds us that beauty and truth are often found in the layered spaces adjacent to happiness.
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