This was my first time seeing Amy Sherald's paintings. No artist "bursts on the scene", they paint away even when no one is paying attention. Yet Sherald became very visible very fast when her portrait of the
Michelle Obama was unveiled at the
National Portrait Gallery. Sherald's show at
Hauser $ Wirth last month was gorgeous and I came a way with a couple of important geeky painter insights. She can really paint curly hair! That's not easy and its frequently avoided but her strokes and colors on tight curls is deft. Second, she can paint the ocean. The Hauser & Wirth show was up at the same time as the
Vija Celmins retrospective at the Met Breuer, so ocean painting and drawing was in the air, look at the second picture, we have only seen the beginning of Sherald's range.
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| Amy Sherald, Precious Jewels by the Sea, 2019 |
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| detail: Precious Jewels by the Sea |
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| Amy Sherald |
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| detail, Amy Sherald |
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| Amy Sherald, Sometimes the King is a Woman, Oil on canvas, 2019 |
