Sheherazade Thenard

Sheherazade Thenard’s work is in many ways a biomythography, weaving her family’s layered history with her own lived experience to create a stunning narrative of Southern American life at the intersection of class, race and sexuality. These multif...

Sheherazade Thenard’s work is in many ways a biomythography, weaving her family’s layered history with her own lived experience to create a stunning narrative of Southern American life at the intersection of class, race and sexuality. These multifaceted, deep and beautiful compositions explore the politicisation of black skin through the use of illuminated, saturated tones to create quasi-mythical characters that sit in harmony with their radiant, rich landscapes. These environments act as concealing elements, as well as both entrapment and sanctuary from societal pressures. The atmosphere of these works gives them an almost spiritual quality, as stories of generations past are reconstructed, reinterpreted and retold on the surface of the canvas. Thenard’s mode of storytelling, as well as the breadth of marks and surfaces gives the work a tapestry-like quality - distant narratives, scenarios and geographies are stitched together to build a new reality. The works are also tinged with pathetic fallacy - the warm, blushing oranges of the Florida sunset indicative of hope and happiness - in some areas the works themselves almost radiate, brimming with excitement. Sheherazade Thenard graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2018 with her BFA, and in 2022 with her MFA. She has had solo or duo shows at Chilli, London; the Orlando Science Center, Orlando & Mills Gallery, Orlando. Thenard has completed residencies at the Atlantic Center for the Arts (with Larry Ossei-Mensah) & the Maitland Art and History Center.