This month, Sherald opened her first solo exhibition since the debut of the presidential portrait made her famous. Amy Sherald: the heart of the matter... at Hauser & Wirth in New York shows the artist coming fully into her powers. Two of these new paintings are larger than she has previously worked, and expand the scope and dialogue of her previous work.
Known for working in her version of the American Realist tradition, Sherald creates stylized images that bring us into an intimate conversation with her subjects. Known for portraits where melanated skin is rendered in grayscale and clothing and background pop with bright colors, Sherald seeks to broaden the art historical canon by adding her intimate images of African Americans. In translating brown skin into grisaille, she simultaneously draws attention to skin tone while denying that it is the only thing that defines her subjects.