Amy Sherald: The World We Make

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not solely tethered to grappling publicly with social issues and that resistance also lies in an expressive vision of everyday settings, at once immortalising them and reinserting them into the art historical canon. In this new American Realism American realism was a movement in art, literature and music which showed contemporary social realities and people’s everyday lives.

But Sherald delivered something exalting, placing Taylor in a turquoise dress instead of her EMT uniform, her left hand gently placed on her hip while an engagement ring she never received from her boyfriend sits on her right. Taylor’s portrait, like much of Sherald’s work, was critically acclaimed, described by Forbes as the “most important painting of the 21st century”. of new and monumental works by Amy Sherald will be on display at the gallery in Monaco. Amy Sherald, one are and who have the kind of light that provides the present and the future with hope.' The painting 'Kingdom' Questions of masculinity and American identity pervade the show, particularly in works like “A God Blessed Land (Empire of Dirt),” which positions an overall-clad farmer atop a John Deere tractor. This agricultural equipment echoes the themes of freedom and movement in Sherald’s “Deliverance” diptych that features two figures balancing on their dirt bikes as they perilously soar mid-air. “The tractor and motorbike paintings explore different expressions of self-sovereignty in our communities and how these expressions might carry into the future. Vehicles become a literal metaphor here for forward momentum, for movement, and potential movement,” Sherald says.

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Her biggest adjustment has been managing her burgeoning celebrity status. “I‘ve learned to have a public persona,” Sherald says. “It’s not that it’s inauthentic. But I had to learn how to be in public.” She believes in generosity and access, themes braided into all aspects of her life and work. So, if an autograph needed to be signed, she signed it. An admirer wanted a hug? An embrace was given. But that took its toll, especially given that she is “not really an outgoing person, per se”. Floods of social demands, combined with a deluge of public events, proved exhausting. “I would get a migraine for two days because that kind of extroversion to an introvert is like physical exhaustion,” says Sherald. How does reframing historical moments through portraiture help to interrogate history, as well as reimagine present and future moments? Bo Bartlett (born 1955) is an American realist painter who portrays elements of everyday life in America. My eyes search for people who are and who have the kind of light that provides the present and the future with hope.’ The painting ‘Kingdom’ (2022), showing a young child at the top of a slide, both asks us to look positively at future generations whilst reminding us of the transient nature of childhood and the vulnerabilities inherent to it. The title of the exhibition, ‘The World We Make’, is a meditation on, as Sherald says, the fact that ‘as we walk beyond what we have been living through, we have a world to remake’, a message that at once contains hope, while suggesting there is work to be done.

I’ve had conversations with other artists who feel as if their work has to create teaching moments about history and our struggle. But I wonder, when do we breathe? There has to be room for a range of experiences, because if there isn’t, how do we evolve?’—Amy Sherald, 2021 [1] The World We Make', is a meditation on, as Sherald says, the fact that 'as we walk beyond what we have beenThe title of the show itself is a form of healing for the artist, who understands that “as we walk beyond what we have been living through, we have a world to remake,” according to Sherald. An example of this is her painting, For love, and for country (2022), which references Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic photograph, V-J Day in Times Square (1945), which prominently shows a US Navy sailor kissing a woman in New York City as Imperial Japan surrendered in the Second World War. “The works reflect a desire to record life as I see it and as I feel it. My eyes search for people who are and who have the kind of light that provides the present and the future with hope,” said Sherald in a statement.

Amy Sherald’s Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, 2018. Photograph: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution In this exhibition, Sherald plays with traditional American symbology through the portrayal of vehicles such as motorbikes and tractors to engage with the currents of masculinity that underlie the work. As Sherald says, ‘The tractor and motorbike paintings explore different expressions of self-sovereignty in our communities, and how these expressions might carry into the future. Vehicles become a literal metaphor here for forward momentum, for movement and potential movement’. In line with this sentiment, Sherald is interested in the idea articulated by artist Alice Neel that ‘art is two things: a search for a road and a search for freedom’. In a large-scale diptych over 3-metres tall entitled ‘Deliverance’ (2022), inspired by the bike culture that is local to Baltimore in Maryland where Sherald has lived, the artist reflects on the sense of freedom that is part of riding. This work shows two bikers in mid-air, as if suspended in time, in a space free from oppression. For Sherald, the imminent danger of riding and anticipation of death contained in this moment offers a reflection on the ultimate source of temporality. While some mistakenly cast her numerous accolades as shotgun successes, a mild frustration Sherald experienced after the Obama portrait’s unveiling, she has built her successes on a solid foundation: a decades-long art career with multiple exhibitions, apprenticeships and a master of fine arts in painting. “I think it’s really important that people understand that this stuff doesn’t happen overnight,” says Sherald. the artist reflects on the sense of freedom that is part of riding. This work shows two bikers in mid-air, as if

Amy Sherald Solo Exhibitions include:

farm paintings from the 19th Century which reinforced notions of American identity. Here, Sherald reflects Travelling from the artist's major exhibition at Hauser & Wirth in London, her first solo show in Europe, a selection showing a young child at the top of a slide, both asks us to look positively at future generations whilst a search for a road and a search for freedom'. In a large-scale diptych over 3-metres tall entitled 'Deliverance'

Hearthland Foundation. This donation will allow the trust to run this scholarship programme indefinitely. portraiture, alluding to a reappropriation of this historically Western style of painting. A monumental work entitled

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possible by the sale of Sherald's portrait of Breonna Taylor made in 2020 to the Ford Foundation and the on the history of agriculture in art as well as ideas around land ownership and systematic land loss. With this