Jameel Radcliffe: Kids From The Stars is Jameel Radcliffe's first solo exhibition with ShowUp (Beacon Gallery is transitioning into ShowUp in January 2024). Kids From The Stars will feature over twenty of the artist's large oil paintings, both self-portraits and portraits of others. 

These pieces offer a portal into a fantasy world of Radcliffe’s making, and are a counterpoint to his work as an abstract artist. Nonetheless aspects of abstraction are visible within multiple pieces. His use of symbolism, such as birds, and either bright or muted colors, create an atmospheric viewing experience. 

Alphonse Mucha, an Art Nouveau illustrator, inspired this newest series of work which blends both Christian architecture and multicultural masquerade traditions. The same words used to describe Mucha — “potent fusion of music, art, aroma, and architecture”— resonate with Radcliffe’s work.

Radcliffe is a current Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) studio resident. Randi Hopkins, the Director of Visual Arts at the BCA says of Radcliffe’s work, “Jameel’s rich paintings have an immediacy that arises from his powerful use of color, texture and form, as well symbolic and poetic layers that reward repeated, close looking.” 

An opening reception to celebrate the exhibition is planned for February 2nd, 2024 from 5-8 pm. 

 

Events

• Feb 2/2 5-8 pm. Opening Celebration and First Friday. 

• Friday, February 23rd. Performance by rapper and teen art educator, Nate Nics. Details to come. 

 

About the Artist

Jameel Radcliffe

Jameel Radcliffe (he/him) is an artist and educator inspired by the flourishing community of his hometown, Boston. He received his BFA from Montserrat College of Art in 2017 and had his first solo show at The Flowering Rock, where he displayed a series of abstract works. His work is in an array of private collections. But most importantly, Radcliffe inspires the next generation of creators through his work as an educator and mentor to young artists at Artists For Humanity.

 

About the Curator

Chenoa Baker

Chenoa Baker (she/her) is a curator, wordsmith, and descendant of self-emancipators. Art spaces as incubators for intergroup dialogue and imaginative portals were her foray into curatorial work. She worked on: Gio Swaby: Fresh Up at the Peabody Essex Museum; Simone Leigh at ICA/Boston; and Touching Roots: Black Ancestral Legacies in the Americas at MFA/Boston. Her autobiographical-style art criticism appears in Public Parking, Material Intelligence, Studio Potter, Boston Art Review, Sixty Inches From Center, Burnaway, and a monograph contribution for Helena Metaferia: Generations, Art For This Moment.

 

About ShowUp 

ShowUp is a haven for disruptors of the artistic status quo. We are an art-focused community, specialized in exhibitions, programs, and opportunities both inside and beyond our walls. 

Our mission is to

EMPOWER artists and curators to experiment, learn and have meaningful exchanges 

AMPLIFY artists and their voices 

GIVE artists tools for self-sufficiency 

CONNECT artists to local communities and beyond 

 

Learn more on our website and Instagram.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jameel Radcliffe, Ama Cisne. 2023. Oil and paper on canvas. 36 x 30.