Daryl Thetford is a nationally exhibiting contemporary artist whose work has been featured in more than two dozen solo museum and gallery exhibitions across the United States. His recent exhibitions include The Unrelenting Stream: Contemporary Society from All Directions at the Holter Museum of Art in Montana (2024) and Contemporary Pop: Living in the Modern World at Essence Arts in California (2024). His solo career also includes major exhibitions at the Ormond Museum of Art (FL); the Art Museum at the University of Memphis; the Gallery at Penn College (PA); the Lubeznik Center for the Arts (IN); the University of Tennessee–Martin; the Desert Art Collection (CA); and multiple solo shows at The Arts Company/Chauvet Arts in Nashville.
Thetford has also participated in significant group exhibitions, including Digital Darkroom at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles; Spectrum at the Hunter Museum of Art in Chattanooga; Artscape at the Knoxville Museum of Art; and curated exhibitions at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins, the DeLuce Gallery at Northwest Missouri State University, Maloney Gallery in New Jersey, and Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh. His work has appeared in national art fairs including SOFA Chicago, Art Chicago, Art Dallas, and the San Francisco Contemporary Art Fair.
He has been commissioned by a wide range of public institutions, cities, and corporations. Major projects and installations include works for Northern Colorado Regional Airport; the City of La Quinta (CA); Adams Homes (FL); Coldwell Banker (SC); Raymond James Corporate Collection (FL); Arrow Electronics (CO); the City of Loveland (CO); Des Moines Area Community College (IA); Sony Records (TN); Scripps Networks (TN); Pinnacle Financial Partners (TN); Tanglewood Property Group (TX); and the Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Department. His public artworks appear in civic sites, airports, community developments, public libraries, and corporate headquarters across the country.
Thetford’s work is represented in numerous public, hospitality, and corporate collections, including Hotel Paseo (CA); Union Station Hotel (TN); The Rally Hotel (CO); Baker Donelson (AL); The Hotel at the University of Maryland (MD); KP Development (MO); Land Development Strategies (MO); Penn College (PA); Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield (IA and SD); Texas Office of Tourism (TX); Walden Security (TN); and multiple hotel, restaurant, and professional interiors nationwide.
His career has received recognition through awards and residencies, including a residency at Keystone College (2017) and a Career Advancement Grant from the Lyndhurst Foundation (2008). Thetford has been invited for lectures and public appearances at the University of Houston, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, the Ormond Museum of Art, the West Loop Gallery (Houston), Penn College, and various media outlets, including multiple interviews with KESQ’s Eye on the Desert (2022–2025), KPRC’s Houston Live, WTVC’s This N That, and other network and print platforms.
His work has been covered in numerous publications, including Palm Springs Life, Houston Chronicle, Mountain Living, Chatter Magazine, CV Weekly, Western Home Journal, St. Pete Life Magazine, Raymond James Magazine(Featured Corporate Collection Artist, 2024), Times Free Press, The Tennessean, Nashville Arts Magazine, Modern Luxury, City Magazine, 360 West Magazine, Atlanta Journal–Constitution, Black & White City Paper, Art Daily News, and multiple museum and exhibition catalogs.
Artistic Practice
Although frequently described as graphic, modern, pop, and contemporary, Thetford’s practice defies simple categorization. His work has been associated with photo collage, digital art, and digital mixed media. Each piece begins with a single original photograph, which he digitally layers with dozens of additional images—a meticulous process that often exceeds forty hours. These composite works explore both the familiar and the psychological: bicycles, cowboys, guitars, and cityscapes juxtaposed with deeper commentaries on modern isolation, personal struggle, and cultural noise.
After completing the digital image, Thetford transforms it into a physical, one-of-a-kind mixed-media work by adding torn and weathered handmade papers, acrylic paint, and various artistic mediums. The result is a hybrid form that merges photographic precision with painterly texture, creating surfaces that are both visually dense and emotionally resonant.
Biography
Daryl Thetford lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with his wife, writer and artist Dana Shavin. They share a passion for travel, good food, inspired conversation, and a life centered on creativity and community.
CV 2024
Sign up for Daryl's Newsletter