“The Great American Fact”, referencing an 1892 book by educator Anna Julia Cooper, was the title of Baltimore based artist Amy Sherald’s show at Hauser+Wirth, LA (March-June/2021). All five of these large-scale pieces are stunning, but “As American As Apple Pie” {with the woman wearing the Barbie t-shirt} might be my favorite! Here’s an excerpt from the gallery’s description of the exhibition:

“[Amy Sherald’s] paintings celebrate the Black body at leisure, thereby revealing her subjects’ whole humanity. Sherald’s work thus foregrounds the idea that Black life and identity are not solely tethered to grappling publicly with social issues, and that resistance lies equally in a full interior life and an expansive vision of selfhood in the world.”

Not only do the images reflect “whole humanity”, Amy purposely hangs the work a little lower than usual, purposely creating a direct relationship between the viewer and the subject. Sigh. I wish I was eye-to-eye with these beauties right now.

*Photography by Joseph Hyde, Installation shots by Fredrik Nilsen Studio, bio photo by Shaniqua Jarvis for Interview Magazine