Amy Sherald

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Artist Amy Sherald Depicts a Vast Array of Black Leisure through Monumental and Nuanced Portraits

“A Midsummer Afternoon Dream” (2020), oil on canvas, 106 x 101 x 2.5 inches. All images courtesy of Hauser & Wirth, shared with permission Amy Sherald plumbs the multitudes of Black leisure in The Great American Fact, a series of arresting portraits that are currently on view at Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles. From a woman resting on a bicycle to two surfers readying for the water, the oil-based paintings observe moments of respite and pleasure at a monumental scale, sometimes spanning nearly nine feet across. Although she surrounds her subjects with vivid patches of color and portrays them wearing…

Art Documentary History

'Black Art: In the Absence of Light,' a New Documentary, Celebrates the Rich Legacy of Black Art

…(previously) and Theaster Gates (previously), alongside Amy Sherald (previously), Kehinde Wiley (previously), and Jordan Casteel, among others. Through a multi-generational lens, the documentary examines the nuanced effects of these figures’ contributions to the broader field of contemporary American art as it shares footage of their practices and reactions to their works. For example, Fred Wilson unveils what’s hidden within museum collections, while Wiley and Sherald both comment on the profound experience of painting the Obamas’ official portraits. Additional insights from Studio Museum director and chief curator Thelma Golden, who also is a consulting producer, are woven throughout the film.  …

Art

Remarkable Portraits by Artist Amy Sherald Render Subjects in Grayscale Against Vibrant Backdrops

“Precious jewels by the sea” (2019), oil on canvas, 120 × 108 × 2 1/2 inches. All images © Amy Sherald Amy Sherald grew up in Columbus, Georgia, which shaped her conceptions of identity and fundamentally influenced her artistic practice. “Acknowledging the performative aspects of race and Southernness, I committed myself to exploring the interiority of Black Americans,” the artist told Smithsonian Magazine in December 2019. “I wanted to create unseen narratives.” Now living and working in Baltimore, Sherald paints distinctive portraits set against bold, vibrant backdrops. She renders each subject, who stares directly at the viewer, in her signature…

Art

The Baltimore Museum of Art Will Collect Work Exclusively by Female-Identifying Artists in 2020

…of Art’s collections and upcoming shows on their website, and stay up-to-date on new acquisitions via Instagram and Twitter. “…we lost…for those who bear/bare witness” by Ebony G. Patterson (2018), at The Baltimore Museum of Art. Purchase with exchange funds from the Pearlstone Family Fund and partial gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. Photograph: courtesy the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago “A Moment’s Pleasure” (installation view) by Mickalene Thomas, at The Baltimore Museum of Art. Photo: Mitro Hood “Planes, rockets, and the spaces in between” by Amy Sherald (2018), at The Baltimore Museum of…

Art

Official Portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald

…offset by the sharply rendered full-color fabric of Mrs. Obama’s floor-length dress. The Smithsonian shares with Colossal that the portraits will be on view to the public beginning Tuesday, February 13th. Wiley’s painting of President Obama will be permanently installed in the Portrait Gallery’s “America’s Presidents” exhibition, and Sherald’s portrait of Mrs. Obama will be displayed in the museum’s “Recent Acquisitions” corridor through November 2018. Sherald also has a solo show at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, which opens May 11, 2018. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama by Amy Sherald, oil on linen, 2018. Courtesy National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution….