About the artwork:
This painting depicts a figure standing before a colorful, patterned wall where a similarly exuberant piece of art hangs in a frame. For this painting, the artist was inspired by the movie "B.A.P.S." (starring Hallie Berry) and its narrative centered on two wealthy women who came from humble beginnings. Rose's work is highly influenced by the aesthetic of the '90s and the idea that Black women can have a luxurious lifestyle that affords them the privilege of buying art.
Light and humorous, Sheena Rose’s work tackles concerns related to identity and affirmation. Many of the artist's compositions feature larger-than-life figures, and her work mimics classic patterns and colors from the seventies that purposely take up space.
About the artist:
Sheena Rose is a visual artist who lives and works in Bridgetown, Barbados. Her multi-disciplinary practice includes painting, drawing, performance, new media, public art, and mixed media. Her heroic figures explore accessibility of personal power, referencing symbols of affluence and place. Her painting style is characterized by flat coloring, bold patterns from the seventies and eighties, and vivid, comic-book-like palettes and vignettes. Her proud figures take up literal and figurative space, donning clothes, hair and confidence that command attention. Situated in a myriad of contexts – the tropics, interiors, athletic platforms – they are symbolic celebrations of the artist’s imagination. Rose is curious about a generous world, where she can move freely and be present as her whole self in any space. She unlocks a certain freedom while querying real life strategies on how to get there. “We are more than just the Sea, Sand, and Sun, we are our ancestors, our roots, and our heritage.”
Sheena Rose (b. 1985, Bridgetown, Barbados) has exhibited in the United States at The Hole (New York, NY); Museum of African Diaspora (San Francisco, CA); Weatherspoon Art Museum (Greensboro, NC); De Buck Gallery, Connect Gallery, Eric Firestone Gallery, and Johansson Projects, and is in a traveling group exhibition originating at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2024-2026). Internationally she has exhibited at the Havana Biennial (Cuba); ICF, Royal Academy of Arts (London, England); Berlin Biennale (Berlin, Germany); and the University of the West Indies (Barbados). Her work has been featured in publications and media including The New York Times, Travel & Leisure Magazine, Vogue, Hospitality Design, White Wall, Wetransfer, Black Futures, Fox Television Empire Season 6, and on the cover of the novel “The Star Side of Bird Hill” written by Naomi Jackson. Public works include a two-story mural at the Inter-American Development Bank Headquarters (Washington DC) and a mural for the exhibition "The Other Side of Now" at the Perez Art Museum (Miami). Rose was also commissioned by the DSM Public Art Foundation to design seven bus shelters in the 6th Avenue Corridor (Iowa). She won the Greensboro School of Art Distinguished Alumni award, in 2014 received a distinguished Fulbright Scholarship and in 2026 was named a laureate of the Caribbean’s most prestigious award program, The Anthony N. Sabga Award for Caribbean Excellence. Rose holds an MFA in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and currently lives and works in her hometown of Bridgetown, Barbados.




