Friends, family and half-imagined figures lounge and recline in Godwin Champs Namuyimba’s paintings; thick, expressive brush strokes building texture on the relaxed limbs and gazes that stare out. The largely self-taught Ugandan artist’s work, revered for its ability to “transform the quotidian into inspirational, aspirational, and fantastical depictions of the world”, is the subject of a solo show at the newly opened Tiger Gallery. A new project headed up by Onitsuka Tiger, the Japanese fashion brand has transformed the vast ground floor of its flagship Regents street store into a space that showcases contemporary art from around the world. Yuki Terase – a former head at Sotheby’s and now a founding partner of the advisory Art Intelligence Global – has been invited to be the gallery’s curator, tasked with building a programme of exhibitions that celebrate a diverse spectrum of artists throughout the year. Terase caught up with Port to discuss the gallery and why Namuyimba was chosen as the first artist to kick off the series – full story in bio. All paintings courtesy of the artist (@godwinchamps)