Amy Sherald’s prolific second half of 2020

The renowned artist, whose career skyrocketed after she created a powerful portrait of the former first lady Michelle Obama, is ready to show new works. On view from February 13th- April 18th, “Black is not a country but I live there” is Amy Sherald’s first West Coast solo exhibition. The exhibition that takes its title from a work of Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet Jericho Brown, will debut all new works made by the artists in the second half of 2020.

Judging by the image featured for the exhibition announcement on the gallery’s website, the artist will stay true to her approach, described by the New York Times as “smoldering, yet self-contained brand of portraiture, paintings of confident, black people whose stylish clothes and backdrops contrast with their faces, which are uniformly grisaille”. Anyone, who’s seen the previous works of Amy Sherald, would find it hard not to agree that the technique invites viewers to engage the artist’s subjects actively in a dialogue that challenges accepted notions of race and representation.