African American Painters: Jasimen Phillips

African American Painters: Jasimen Phillips

Phillips and Afrofuturist Expressionism

Jasimen Phillips (born March 2, 1986) is an American painter based in Los Angeles. She is best known for her expressionistic paintings. Phillips is celebrated for her bold brushwork and her exploration of Afrofuturism, cultural memory, and abstract storytelling. Among contemporary African American painters, she stands out for her robot portraits which investigate the emotional dimensions of being human.

Jasimen Phillips: African American Painter & Founder of AAWA

As the founder of the African American Women Artists Collective (AAWA), Jasimen Phillips is a leading voice for Black women in the arts. She speaks up for visibility, mentorship, and growth. In addition, she works to expand opportunities for African American women artists. With more than 1,000 works shown across the United States, she has become one of the most influential painters of the 21st century. As a result, her art continues to shape modern culture and inspire others.

Early Life & Inspiration

Phillips was born and raised in Los Angeles. Because of the city’s vibrant energy and diverse culture, her creativity flourished early. Her first memory of art came from a framed print of Picasso’s Harlequin and Woman with a Necklace in her family home. From that moment on, she knew she wanted to tell stories through color and form.

She found inspiration in da Vinci, Rembrandt, Matisse, and Picasso. However, Jean-Michel Basquiat influenced her the most. He encouraged her to paint from emotion and cultural memory. In the same way, many African American painters explore identity and heritage through abstraction.

Later on, a year in Germany exposed Phillips to abstract expressionists like Joan Mitchell, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko. Their bold use of color and gesture changed her approach. Therefore, she began creating more expressive and experimental works. Eventually, this helped her join a growing circle of visionary African American painters pushing the limits of modern art.

Education and Early Career

Phillips graduated from UCLA in 2009 with a degree in German Studies. While studying, she also focused on feminist theory, diaspora studies, and African American art history. These subjects, in turn, shaped her creative voice and worldview.

Her professional debut came in 2012 at Art Landing Gallery in Los Angeles. During that time, her mentor Eduardo Bonilla guided her first solo show of abstract portraits on rotated canvases. Critics praised her emotional honesty and original style. Consequently, she was recognized as a promising new painter.

Afterward, she joined the Art Council for Long Beach, expanding her role in the Southern California art scene. Later, she exhibited at The LA Art Show and the Torrance Art Museum. In these shows, audiences could rotate her paintings or explore augmented reality layers. Moreover, this interactive experience became a hallmark of her style and inspired other African American painters.

Founding of AAWA (African American Women Artists Collective)

In 2025, Phillips founded the African American Women Artists Collective (AAWA). The national group supports African American painters, sculptors, and multimedia artists. Through this effort, Phillips created a space for mentorship, professional growth, and shared exhibitions.

In addition, she uses AAWA to promote collaboration and cultural storytelling. Her leadership, therefore, reflects a larger movement among African American painters who use art as activism and community healing. Furthermore, the collective builds a lasting legacy for future generations of artists.

Artistic Style, Philosophy, and Afrofuturist Vision

Phillips’ art blends abstract expressionism, surrealism, and Afrofuturism. She is best known for her technology infused figurative and narrative paintings, which challenge viewers to reevaluate what it means to be human. As a result, her paintings feel alive and dynamic.

Key Features of Her Work

  • Robot portraits: figures that merge humanity and technology while exploring identity, and consciousness

  • Bold Brushwork: Expresses energy, emotion, and cultural rhythm.

  • Layered Symbolism: Combines ancestral memory, dreams, and visual codes.

  • Color Palettes: Draw inspiration from West African fabrics and cosmic Afrofuturist themes.

Phillips calls her process “emotional cartography.” In essence, she maps memory, time, and transformation. Therefore, each piece invites reflection and dialogue about identity and history.

Selected Major Works

  • Catch Me: A vibrant expression of freedom, blending graffiti with abstract energy.

  • Untitled Series: Inspired by African calligraphy and poetic mark-making.

  • Reflections: Explores legacy and spirituality through large fields of color.

  • In the Afterworld: An Afrofuturist triptych linking ancestral and digital worlds.

Together, these works demonstrate her evolution and fearless experimentation.

Recognition and Impact

In 2025, FLUENzer Magazine named Phillips “The Face of 21st Century Painting.” Critics praised her as a visionary redefining art, memory, and liberation. Because of this, her works now appear in major museum collections across the country.

Meanwhile, Phillips lectures at art schools and cultural centers. She mentors young African American painters and encourages them to explore identity through art. In doing so, she helps shape the next generation of innovative artists.

Personal Life

Phillips lives in Los Angeles with her husband and four children. Beyond her studio work, she leads AAWA retreats and mentors emerging artists. Additionally, she studies ancestral spiritual practices that deepen her creative insight. Ultimately, her personal life and artistic vision remain deeply connected.

Impact of Artwork

Jasimen Phillips reimagines art history through Black womanhood, memory, and Afrofuturism. Her vision, both personal and political, transforms the way audiences see the world. Through her leadership and her art, she links the ancestral to the futuristic. Finally, her work continues to inspire generations of African American painters to dream boldly and paint freely.

Relevant Keywords:
African American painters • Black women artists • Contemporary Black artists • Afrofuturism in painting • Abstract expressionism • Los Angeles artist • Famous African American painters • Emerging Black visual artists • Black female contemporary artists • Black artist collectives • Women-led art organizations • AAWA Collective

Genres

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Contact Information

Jasimen Phillips
jasimen.phillips@gmail.com

Artist Links

Website

Instagram

Artist Work

Catch Me (2019)
Catch Me If I Rise — Jasimen Phillips In Catch Me If I Rise, contemporary painter Jasimen Phillips captures the emotional power of resilience, transformation, and freedom through bold abstraction. Known for her innovative sideways-canvas technique, Phillips invites viewers to shift their perspective—both visually and spiritually. The work radiates movement and self-determination, echoing the experience of women who rise despite resistance. Phillips, a celebrated African American woman painter, layers sweeping strokes of indigo, ochre, and turquoise to create a sense of ascension and momentum. Each mark feels both deliberate and spontaneous, suggesting the tension between control and surrender. The composition’s dynamic energy mirrors the artist’s ongoing exploration of identity, cultural memory, and creative liberation. The title Catch Me If I Rise speaks to both vulnerability and defiance—a declaration that rising cannot be contained. It reflects Phillips’s broader practice of translating emotion into visual rhythm, using color and gesture to chart a map of persistence. Her textured surfaces invite close looking, revealing subtle traces of history, healing, and hope beneath the paint. Through this work, Jasimen Phillips joins a growing movement of modern women artists redefining what it means to ascend in art and in life. Catch Me If I Rise stands as a vivid testament to courage, perspective, and the unstoppable energy of women in contemporary painting.

Link to Catch Me

Lave Dancers (2018)
Mixed media on canvas

Self Portrait (2024)

Mansplaining by Jasimen Phillips (2025)
oil on canvas.Mansplaining (2025) by Jasimen Phillips oil on canvas Inspired by Rembrandt's "Two Scholars Disputing," this contemporary painting interrogates the myth of man as the ultimate authority - over knowledge, over nature, over technology. The figure at the center assumes the role of teacher, convinced of his control, while the act of explanation becomes a performance of dominance. Yet beneath this exchange, a quieter force listens and learns: the artificial intelligence we believe we are shaping is, in fact, shaping us. "Mansplaining" critiques not only the diminishment of women throughout art history, but also the arrogance of human exceptionalism — the idea that man stands above, rather than within, the systems we seek to master.

Link to Mansplaining by Jasimen Phillips

Checking the Mail (2025)
acrylic on canvas. "Checking the Mail" is a contemporary painting that captures the humanization of robots and the quiet weight of everyday obligation. The humanoid figure holds a stack of mail beneath a rotated canvas, where the mailbox rests above—disrupting balance and perspective. This surreal composition evokes reflection on routine, responsibility, and the emotional depth within mechanized life. Would you like me to make the tone more poetic (for an artist statement) or more search-friendly (for a gallery website)?

Link to Checking the Mail