Fine artist showing African plant (4)
I believe the answer is:
okra
'african plant' is the definition.
(I know that okra are native to Africa)
'fine artist' is the wordplay.
'fine' becomes 'ok' (synonyms).
'artist' becomes 'RA' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'ok'+'ra'='OKRA'
'showing' is the link.
(Other definitions for okra that I've seen before include "Long green tropical vegetable" , "Pod eaten in soups, stews etc" , "Bhindi in Ind. cookery" , "Green pods, in stews" , "Edible seed pods" .)