Spotlight Artist

Josiah Jamison

Midwest
Artist profile photo

You Won’t Be Alone, If I’m Here

Three-panel painting of people gathered outdoors, displayed in a dimly lit gallery.

acrylic, silver leaf, charcoal, and stretched paper on panel

don’t mind me

Nude figure lying in a field with a shadowy figure watching from behind.

oil on canvas

Sleeping Wildgrass

Person lying face down, surrounded by flowing, textured brown hair.

oil on canvas

Featured in New American Paintings1 / 3

Artist Statement

 I am a Black trans-femme artist whose practice explores identity, kinship, and resilience through painting, installation, and multimedia storytelling. My work is rooted in the lived realities of trans-femmes of color—those navigating love, trauma, beauty, and survival in a world that often refuses to see us fully. I use figurative imagery, symbolic landscapes, and textured materials to hold space for stories that are often erased or flattened. Central to my practice is the vision of a trans utopia—a space where joy, serenity, and resistance coexist. I’m interested in the emotional residue of being hyper-visible yet unseen, and how anger, intimacy, and community shape our becoming. Recent works like You Won’t Be Alone, If I’m Here (2025) reflect a shift toward softness and collective care, honoring trans bodies not as symbols but as whole beings.

Influenced by academic painting but resisting spectacle, my work creates room for reflection—for those of us told we’re too much, and for those willing to unlearn. Each piece is a gesture toward healing, kinship, and future-making.

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