Kate Shaw’s exhibition Radiant Orb at Mirus Gallery in San Francisco draws on both the aesthetics and symbolism of planetary and cosmic forms—particularly the sun, often historically referred to as a "radiant orb." Known for her strikingly surreal landscapes composed of poured acrylic, glitter, and resin, Shaw’s work bridges the natural and synthetic, the earthly and the celestial. In this body of work, glowing circular motifs echo solar imagery, invoking the sun not only as a life-giving force but as a symbol of both awe and danger in the context of a planet under ecological stress. Her luminous palettes and swirling formations seem to pulse with an internal light, reinforcing the solar metaphor.

The term “radiant orb” carries with it a poetic legacy, often used in literature and art to describe the sun as a source of majesty and power. In Shaw’s hands, this phrase becomes a conceptual anchor. The sun, as a radiant orb, represents cycles of energy, time, and transformation—concepts that are embedded in her practice. These paintings capture a tension between reverence for natural beauty and anxiety about its fragility, positioning the sun not only as muse but as a metaphor for the tipping point of climate systems.

By referencing the “radiant orb,” Shaw expands her visual vocabulary to encompass mythic and planetary symbolism, aligning her work with broader themes of ecological consciousness and cosmic interconnection. Her landscapes are not grounded in specific locations, but rather exist in a suspended reality—an alternate geology illuminated by imagined suns. The exhibition thus suggests a universe where climate and time collapse, and where the solar orb presides over both creation and collapse. Shaw’s ability to make the abstract intimate and the planetary personal is what gives Radiant Orb its lasting resonance.