Tim Williams
Tryin' To Do Right But Wrongs So Easy, 2019
mixed media on wood
48 x 48 inches
$ 9,000.00
C-lective Curator’s Cut:
Tim Williams's "Tryin' To Do Right But Wrongs So Easy" (2019) is a 48 x 48 inch mixed-media painting on wood. Williams, who goes by OPTIMIST, is an Oakland-based artist who has spent over 15 years making layered work informed by graffiti, comic books and street culture. He studied Conceptual Information Arts at San Francisco State University and has shown widely, including a solo show at RVCA Gallery in San Francisco and at Context Art Fair in Miami in 2023. The title is a moral dilemma stated plainly, and the painting matches it: overlapping figures, text, pattern and color that reward close looking. Williams layers, building depth that is not immediately visible.
Tim Williams, aka OPTIMIST
We Love Tim. Tim, known in the art world as OPTIMIST, is an Oakland-based, mixed-media artist whose vibrant, pop-inspired work celebrates movement, identity, and the rhythms of city life. Merging graffiti aesthetics with the narrative flair of comic books, his art is rebellious, playful, and deeply rooted in human experience.
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Bachelor’s in Conceptual Information Arts, San Francisco State University
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Worldwide practice spanning 15 years, creating mixed-media, layered works informed by graffiti, comic books, and daily life
Extensive travel, especially to Taipei and other cities, directly inspires his Travelin’ Man series
Featured in his successful solo exhibition “Travelin’ Man” at RVCA Gallery, San Francisco
Presented at Context Art Fair, Miami (2023)
"I always saw my art as a way to connect with people—on walls, in sketchbooks, wherever I happened to be."
Tim’s Travelin’ Man series is a dynamic chronicle of cities and experiences, capturing the energy of place through motion, memory, and bold mark making. Influenced by street art, zine culture, and pop art, his work is both spontaneous and deliberate, layered with color, texture, and storytelling. From Oakland to Osaka, each piece reflects not just the spirit of a location, but also Tim’s evolving relationship with the world around him.
C-lective is proud to present the complete Travelin’ Man series, along with a broader selection of Tim’s works that continue to celebrate movement, identity, and connection.
Interviews in progress, please check back soon!