Sheherazade Thenard

About the Artist

Sheherazade Thenard (b. 1995, New York) is an Orlando based figurative painter and illustrator. She graduated from the University of Central Florida in the Spring of 2018 with her BFA in Fine Arts -Painting, BA in Visual Arts and Emerging Media Management, and minor in Art History. After graduating, she was awarded a year-long artist residency at the Maitland Art and History Center’s Artist in Action program in Orlando, FL. Sheherazade recently completed her masters degree in Fine Arts at the University of Central Florida and is now working daily in her studio in Miami, FL.

Artist Statement

For me, a landscape painting is not merely a visual representation of the world. It is a metaphor for the human condition. I paint to try to make sense of the fragility of our world, the passing of time, and our shared experiences of light, color, and space. The incorporation of figures within my paintings are often swallowed or hidden by their constructed lush surroundings. Painting the land and its inhabitants continues to be a way of engaging with the strangeness of being here.

The undercurrent themes of mysticism, escapism and fantasy are reoccurring within my pieces. Through these works, I aim to create psychological spaces paired with hidden symbolism integral to the understanding of each painting.

Follow her on Instagram @sheheraze.thenard