Nathaniel Sheppard III
Nathaniel Sheppard III (b. 1989) is a South African printmaker and printer based in Johannesburg. Sheppard’s practice engages critically with the socio-political context of South Africa and the Diaspora, drawing on the country’s rich tradition of printmaking as both an expressive medium and a tool for political engagement. His experience at David Krut Projects fostered a collaborative ethos that informs his approach to painting, and he frequently employs collage techniques to incorporate text and imagery into his work. Through his innovative exploration of printmaking, Sheppard actively contributes to advancing the field while advocating for a greater appreciation of its historical and cultural importance.
Nathaniel Sheppard III (b. 1989)
is a South African American visual artist and printmaker, based in Johannesburg. Sheppard’s formative years were spent in Chicago and Los Angeles, where he pursued his studies in architecture at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC). He immigrated to Johannesburg, South Africa where he enrolled at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) to study Fine Arts. It was at WITS that he found a keen interest in printmaking.
Sheppard worked at David Krut Projects, learning more advanced techniques in printmaking and shadowing printmakers such as Jillian Ross on projects for a few prominent artists where he assisted in the carving and Printing of the “Mantegna” Woodblock print edition of the Triumphs and Laments series by William Kentridge.
Observing and applying the collective practice ethos of printmaking in South Africa, particularly in how printmaking afforded South Africans the autonomy to control the means of their production; for example the printing of struggle posters/t-shirts/ banners and other media on the struggle, Sheppard is a master printmaker that often prints the work of the most well-known Southern African artists.
Sheppard co-founded Danger Gevaar Ingozi Studio in 2016 with Anaz Mia, Sbongiseni Khulu, and Chad Cordeiro whose foundation was built on the independent publishing of prints and an emphasis on the value of the labour of a printmaker concerning the value of the work they produce in line with South African history, and the traditions of printmaking and craft-based practices.
