SFMOMA will present the first major showcase of Amy Sherald’s work this fall, featuring over 50 paintings, including Michelle Obama’s portrait.
Amy Sherald, “Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama,” 2018
When Michelle Obama selected Amy Sherald in 2018 to create her official portrait, murmurs rippled through some corners of the art world. Who was Sherald, and what type of work did she do? After the unveiling, the answer was clear. Sherald is brilliant, and millions of fans emerged overnight. The work has become so iconic that it’s arguably one of the most recognizable pieces in the past 30 years.
Artist Amy Sherald’s exhibit at SFMOMA runs from Nov. 16-March 9.
Amy Sherald: American Sublime at SFMOMA is the global debut of the artist’s first mid-career survey, assembling over 50 paintings from 2007 to recent work. Visitors will also see the debut of works painted specifically for the exhibit by the New York City-based artist originally from Columbus, Georgia.
“By creating images of Black men, women and children at ease, with few markers of place, time or context beyond the clothes they wear, Sherald has invented an entirely new form of figurative painting,” says Sarah Roberts, SFMOMA’s Andrew W. Mellon curator and head of painting and sculpture. “Her approach goes beyond portraiture to enact new conditions for seeing, feeling and understanding shared humanity.”
Amy Sherald, “The Bathers,” 2015
Visitors will learn about Sherald’s figurative painting process, where she invites individuals she sees on the street to be photographed before transforming the images into paintings. The exhibit also showcases how the artist selects garments, renders faces and skin in gray tones (a process that dates back to the Renaissance) and makes historical references in her work. The latter include W.E.B. Dubois’ photos for the Paris Exposition of 1900 and Alfred Eisenstadt’s renowned photo of a sailor and woman kissing in Times Square to celebrate the end of World War II.
Amy Sherald, “Listen, you a wonder. You a city of a woman. You got a geography of your own,” 2016
“In the spirit of great American artists like Edward Hopper, Alice Neel and Kerry James Marshall, Sherald’s works reframe our understanding of American culture,” says Roberts. “Her paintings invite viewers to recognize and move beyond preconceived ideas and engage in more expansive thinking about race, representation and the wide-open possibilities and complexities of every individual.” Nov. 16-March 9, 151 Third St., sfmoma.org
Photography by: JOSEPH HYDE, COURTESY THE ARTIST AND HAUSER & WIRTH; OLIVIA LIFUNGULA, COURTESY HAUSER & WIRTH; JOSEPH HYDE, COURTESY THE ARTIST AND HAUSER & WIRTH; JOSEPH HYDE, COURTESY THE ARTIST AND HAUSER & WIRTH
