Eliot School Salon: Bold BOOM Universe Artist Talk
April 23, 2021
"Bold BOOM Universe" Artist Talk
Wednesday, April 28, 7pm
Jerel Dye • LJ-Baptiste • Zahirah Nur Truth • Cagen Luse
Three escape artists bring us closer to reality with an exhibition of bold works on paper, through diverse representative storytelling, concept art, comics, and illustration. Jerel Dye, LJ-Baptiste, and Zahirah Nur Truth create alternate universes that overlap with our own. “Bold BOOM Universe” highlights the vision and voices of Boston artists who are also faculty for the Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts. The three art educators bring the craft of comics and self-expression to curious minds, children and adults, with passion and purpose. The exhibition runs from April 2 through May 2 at Galatea Fine Art, in Boston’s SOWA District. On Wednesday, April 28, 7 pm, as part of Boston Design Week, moderator Cagen Luse will moderate an artist talk as part of the Eliot School Salon Series.
The confines of COVID have caused most of us long to expand our limited spaces. Experience three artists who habitually explore new worlds. Think intricately imagined, biomorphic machines floating above speculative landscapes; or the everyday adventures of a precocious black preteen living in a fictional Massachusetts town; or zombies and monsters inspired by the macabre “Lovecraft Country.” With fast, furious, expressive lines and action, their works draw upon the excitement children take in populating alternative worlds with half-human creatures and spaceships—evoking the sound effects: Wow! Oooo! Boom!
The "Bold BOOM Universe" Artist Talk is an Eliot School Salon. It is hosted by the Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts, generously sponsored by Melony Swasey with Unlimited Sotheby's International Reality and presented in collaboration with Boston Design Week.
Join the conversation! Bold BOOM Universe illustration by LJ-Baptiste.
About the Artists
Jerel Dye
Jerel Dye is a cartoonist, illustrator, and artist living and working in the Boston area. He has been creating art and comics since 2005 and has produced several self-published mini comics and has created comics stories for anthologies like Inbound, Minimum Paige, Hellbound, and the award-winning Little Nemo/Winsor McCay tribute Dream Another Dream. In 2012, he received the MICE comics grant for his mini-comic From the Clouds.
Zahirah Nur Truth
Zahirah Nur Truth is a multifaceted artist with a varied art practice that includes illustration, paintings, murals, jewelry design/metalsmithing, and performance-spoken word/acting. Zahirah, affectionately known as Da Artist ZNT, strives to create art that invokes joy, representation, empowerment and thought. She is also an early childhood educator with over 10 years of experience in the field and working in the Boston community as a Teaching Artist, Curator, and Arts Education Consultant.
LJ-Baptiste
LJ-Baptiste is an art educator and cartoonist from Boston. He has collaborated with media giants such as Google, Hasbro, and PBS to produce essential works of art. He is best known for his ongoing comic book series, COMIXSCAPE, which features the adventures of a bright-eyed, perpetually preteen boy and his raccoon sidekick. Whether it’s work in animation, graphic apparel designs, or COMIXSCAPE, LJ’s art can be described as distinctive, masterful, and captivating. When it comes to visual communication, LJ prioritizes authenticity, details, and positive messages.
Cagen Luse
Cagen Luse is a visual artist and entrepreneur. Among many other pursuits, he is the artist and author of LunchTime ComiX, a comic series about life, love, family, and the issues people of color face in today's world.