Amy Sherald American Sublime opens April 9, 2025, at the Whitney Museum of American Art, showcasing powerful new work. With over 40 striking and poignant paintings, the exhibition solidifies Amy Sherald’s position as one of America’s most significant living painters.
Sherald utilizes her brush to portray ordinary Black Americans, as seen by her homage to Breonna Taylor and her well-known image of former First Lady Michelle Obama. Her distinctive grayscale skin tones have become a hallmark style that celebrates Black presence and removes racial labeling.
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Stories
Sherald’s subjects aren’t celebrities—they’re people she meets on the street, individuals with soulful energy and stories waiting to be told. “I’m looking for soulmates,” Sherald explained. One painting, “As American as apple pie,” depicts a Brooklyn couple she met by chance, styled with timeless elegance and surrounded by vintage Americana.
A Meditation on Presence and Ancestry
Among the exhibit’s most arresting works is the monumental triptych “Ecclesia (The Meeting of Inheritance and Horizons),” a surreal piece inspired by Wes Anderson’s “Grand Budapest Hotel” and the stained-glass windows of old churches. Sherald poses open-ended questions through this work: “Are they above water? Above land? Maybe guides waiting to call the ancestors back.”
Creating Connection at Eye Level
The positioning of the pieces at eye level is intentional. “I want you to feel like you’re making eye contact, like you’re seen,” Sherald shared. Every piece of art creates a feeling of closeness. Her images celebrate happiness, pride, and visibility while directly opposing erasure.
Amy Sherald American Sublime transports audiences to a culture that values the richness and beauty of Black existence.
Source: NBC News
