Ferrari Sheppard (born 1983) is an American artist. His artistic style is influenced by

Willem de Kooning Willem de Kooning ( , ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. Born in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, he moved to the United States in 1926, becoming a US citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married pa ...

, Cy Twombly and

Joan Mitchell Joan Mitchell (February 12, 1925 – October 30, 1992) was an American artist who worked primarily in painting and printmaking, and also used pastel and made other works on paper. She was an active participant in the New York School of artis ...

, as well as

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the ti ...

figures like

Jacob Lawrence Jacob Armstead Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000) was an American painter known for his portrayal of African-American historical subjects and contemporary life. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", an art form populariz ...

and

Romare Bearden Romare Bearden (, ) (September 2, 1911 – March 12, 1988) was an American artist, author, and songwriter. He worked with many types of media including cartoons, oils, and collages. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden grew up in New York C ...

. Sheppard is also a member of the hip-hop duo Dec 99th, alongside

Yasiin Bey Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in Political hip-hop, conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and comme ...

. The duo's album, December 99th, was released in 2016. Sheppard lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Early life

Sheppard was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois in 1983. After his family returned to Chicago from New York City, Sheppard pursued his passion for the arts at the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

(SAIC).

Career

In 2016, Sheppard returned to painting, marking a significant change in his career. He adopted the canvas as his main medium, producing works characterized by layered textures and vivid colors to convey intricate emotional landscapes. His art combines figurative and abstract elements to address themes such as cultural heritage, memory, and self-actualization. The artwork invites viewers to engage with narratives that are both introspective and broadly relatable. Sheppard is represented by Massimo De Carlo. In May 2025, Sheppard was featured in

Vogue Magazine ''Vogue'' (stylized in all caps), also known as American ''Vogue'', is a monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers style news, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. It is part of the global collectio ...

’s

Met Gala The Met Gala, formally called the Costume Institute Benefit, is the annual haute couture fundraising festival held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in Manhattan. The Met Gala was and still is popularly rega ...

Issue as part of its Superfine Suiting portfolio, which highlighted artists and cultural figures shaping contemporary aesthetics and identity.

Exhibitions

*2024: Modality – Massimo De Carlo, Hong Kong *2024: Jubilee – UTA Artist Space, New York, NY *2023: Crucible, Massimo De Carlo, Museum of

Villa Torlonia (Rome) Villa Torlonia is a villa and surrounding gardens in Rome, Italy, formerly belonging to the Torlonia family. It is entered from the via Nomentana. Design It was designed by the Neoclassical architect Giuseppe Valadier. Construction began in 18 ...

, Rome, Italy *2023: Portal Study, Massimo De Carlo, Frieze Los Angeles, CA *2022: Tremendous, Massimo De Carlo, London *2022: Walking Together, Massimo De Carlo Pièce Unique, Paris *2021: Dark Bodies Bright Crest, Maruani Mercier, Brussels Belgium *2021: Positions of Power, UTA Artist Space, Beverly Hills, CA *2020: Heroines of Innocence – Wilding Cran Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Group Exhibitions *2024: Effetto Notte: Day for Night,New American Realism, National Gallery of Ancient Art, Rome, Italy *2022: La Vie en Rose, Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Chicago, IL *2022:

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

Reimagined,

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

, Los Angeles, CA *2021: Where to begin…, Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Paris, FR *2020: MoAD Benefit Auction, San Francisco, CA *2020: Black Voices Black Microcosm – CF Hill Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden *2020: LACMA Group Exhibition –

, Los Angeles, CA Selected Collections * Aïshti Foundation, Lebanon

Discography

As Dec 99th with
Yasiin Bey Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in Political hip-hop, conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and comme ...

* ''December 99th'' (2016)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, Ferrari Living people 20th-century American painters American essayists African-American writers African-American musicians American electronic musicians American experimental musicians American male essayists 1983 births 21st-century African-American artists 20th-century African-American painters 21st-century American painters African-American male writers