About

Sheherazade Thénard, born in Queens, New York, now based in Miami, Florida, holds a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Central Florida (2022). Their work explores the layered histories of their family's assimilation between Martinique and the United States and their lived experience as a Black queer artist in the American South. Their practice delves into these multifaceted colonial experiences, both personal and familial, and often returns to self-portraiture for direct engagement with their own desires and possibilities. They transform autobiographical memories into spaces for contemplation and reimagined geography, drawing from Black feminist media to illuminate embodiment and self-possession in a world that imposes survival through refusal. Afro-Caribbean symbolism, spiritual practices, and connections to the land are central, invoking protection and remembrance. Their work, characterized by gestural mark-making, spans medium to large-scale oil painting, drawing, printmaking, and other suitable mediums to convey their message.

Notably, they featured in the joint show "Rootwork: Sowing Seeds" (2023) with ChilliArts Project in London and participated in group exhibitions such as "Hand Written" (2022) and "Sur(Face)" (2023) with Chilli Arts Project. They also contributed to the traveling show “Easy Like a Sunday Morning” curated by Mashonda Tifrere (New York & LA) and were featured in the "Fresh Squeezed" exhibition at the Morean Arts Center (2022). Thénard has expanded their artistic journey through residencies at The Atlantic Center for the Arts (2023) with mentor Larry Osai-Mensah, Art House San Clemente (2023), and the American Landmark Artist Residency (2022) in Orlando and most recently The Fores Project (2024) in London.