Amy Sherald in “Everyday Icons” - Season 11 - "Art in the Twenty-First Century" | Art21

Art21 proudly presents an artist segment, featuring Amy Sherald, from the "Everyday Icons" episode in the eleventh season of the "Art in the Twenty-First Century" series.
"Everyday Icons" premiered in April 2023 on PBS.
In her studio in New Jersey, artist Amy Sherald paints portraits that tell a story about American lives. Her face just inches away from a canvas, the artist carefully applies stroke after stroke, building her narrative through paint. “I really have this belief that images can change the world,” says Sherald, a belief she acts upon in her compelling paintings, which depict everyday people with dignity and humanity. Following the tradition of American realists like Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper, the artist uses her paintings to tell stories about America. Searching for models, settings, and scenarios that would convey the kinds of stories she wanted to tell, Sherald began to populate the world of her paintings with everyday people in everyday situations.
Amy Sherald was born in 1973 in Columbus, Georgia, and lives and works in New Jersey. Receiving her BA in painting from Clark Atlanta University in 1997, Sherald went on to receive her MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2004. Reflecting the complexities of representation and identity, Sherald’s paintings challenge viewers to engage with her subjects in new and profound ways, calling attention to the universal stories told through her portraits.
Learn more about the artist at:
art21.org/artist/amy-sherald/
CREDITS | Executive Producer: Tina Kukielski. Series Producer: Nick Ravich. Director & Producer: Ian Forster. Editor: Bryan Chang. Director of Photography: Jia Li.
Assistant Curator: Jurrell Lewis. Associate Producer: Andrea Chung. Design & Animation: Ryan Carl, Nikita Iziev. Composer: Andrew Orkin. Additional Vidoe Editor: Addison Post. Additional Photography: Gabriela Díaz Arp, Bria Granville, Andrew Kemp, Jane Macedo Yang. Assistant Camera: Jason Drakeford, Trevor Edwards, Oscar Harrison. Location Sound: Carver Audain, Ana Fernández, Sade Norton.
Video Post-Production Services: Cut + Measure. Video Post-Production Producer: Alex Laviola. Colorist: Chris Ramey. Video Post-Production Coordinator: Catherine DiRosa. Online & Conform: David Gauff. Additional Animation: Andy Cahill. Audio Post-Production Services: Konsonant Post. Re-Recording Mixer & Sound Editor: Gisela Fullà-Silvestre. Assistant Editors: Ellen Askey, Michelle Hanks. Audio Description: 3Play Media. Station Relations De Shields Associates. Legal Counsel: Withersworldwide. Additional Curatorial Research: Susan Thompson. Interns: Stephanie Ades, Sekou Cherif, Yeon Cho, Michaela Esteban, Emma Flood, Renee Rienecker, James Santiago, Adam Varca, Dani Wieder.
Additional Art21 Staff: Lauren Barnett, Hannah DeGarmo, Lolita Fierro, Joe Fusaro, Molaundo Jones, Emma Nordin, Anna Pruett, Jessica Svenson, Noor Tamari, Nora Wimmer.
Artwork Courtesy: Amy Sherald; Hauser & Wirth; Hopper, © 2023 Heirs of Jesphine N. Hopper / Licensed byy Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY; Wyeth, © 2023 Andrew Wyeth / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Archival Materials: ABC News, Drury Bynum, CBS Sunday Morning, Columbus State University's Bo Barlett Center, Family of Breonna Taylor, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Shine Creative, Shuttershock, Speed Art Museum, Pete Souza, WNCN.
Special Thanks: The Art21 Board of Trustees, Danielle Brock, The Columbus Museum, Sasha Hecht, High Museum of Art, Moselle Kleiner, Tamika Palmer, Devin L. Roberts, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Geraldine Sherald.
Major underwriting for Season 11 of Art in the Twenty-First Century is provided by PBS, National Endowment for the Arts, Lambent Foundation, The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Toby Devan Lewis, Robert Lehman Foundation, and Nion McEvoy & Leslie Berriman.
Series Creators: Susan Dowling and Susan Sollins.
©2023 Art21, Inc.
#AmySherald #EverydayIcons #Art21

[@joyce3790]

“Don’t listen to criticism and don’t listen to praise. Just do what you do.” She’s amazing. Love her work.

[@luviana8443]

Love all

[@muhlaynee]

Oh My Word!! The Kiss is stunning in person. I saw many of these pieces at Hauser & Wirth in London 2022 and they were breathtaking up close. The details in the clothing and facial expressions felt so real. With the use of the grayscale, it's like a vivid memory coming back to life.

[@artmovies3114]

The key phrases of the conversation: 'Images can change the world'; 'Photography is the beginning of the painting.' Truly an ICON!

[@lauradill1447]

yes yes yes!

[@divinencounters]

She inspires me to improve my technical skills

[@magicknight13]

I love the connection between her gray scale paintings and photographs filled with life and memories. Wow. She truly is an artist of today.

[@chantalrochon3566]

Breath taking artwork❤

[@natashasherman4458]

Nothing inspires me more than watching an artist at work.

[@JamesHunterRoss]

Wow! What a great 15 minutes; I got introduced to an truly amazing artist. I had seen the Obama porttrait, and it blew my mind, but I didn't know anything more about the artist.

[@phronsiekeys]

thank you for featuring this wonderful painter -- I am thrilled for her success

[@artgeometrix6346]

This is brilliant. Really awesome job Nicely done.

[@juanitamarshall285]

I feel like your painting put a face on who we are as people. Everday day people just living our lives. Living in a society that wants to dehumanize us for convenience . I love your painting. It's like taking out the family album books. You're taking the album books outside 😊. Thanks !

[@TT-fn1xb]

This.☝️

[@lightuponlight6727]

Amy!! Love it Love it Love it!! You are such an INSPIRATION. The new work is stunning. Thank you.

[@lastdays9163]

This was so good, so beautiful 🌈

[@markwardel6751]

Great work and beautiful family photographs.

[@KBD-ONE]

I don't like how artists are pushed into a corner of painting in one specific style for years. To me, that's reactionary, but I think some artists do it if it appears to be a style that makes them directly identifiable.

[@JDHGaming]

That's fantastic work. Like the skill on display is awesome 😄

[@brendawillems4804]

Wauw so happy for you that you had that wonderful commission to paint Michelle! You deserve it BIG time!‼️ Your art is 💯👌🏾👏❤️‍🔥

[@leesvision]

Much love ❤️ 🙏, she really is able to capture emotion in the eyes. I think the grey is unique i like it, it's a sharp contrast with her choice of background colors but it goes really well with the grey style figures and over all the paintings are balanced. In short, very awesome!

[@elisabetbosch1778]

Amazing artist. Lovely stories. So inspiring!!

[@elisabetbosch1778]

@@imnojasontodd Yeah I’m sure you could do it 😂 You’re just hating 🤫

[@elisabetbosch1778]

@@imnojasontodd I didn’t know artists were supposed to tell other people what to find amazing, what they should care about and what not. Her art is amazing to me because I perceive way more than just traced photographs (some she also takes hence there is art in that too). In my opinion art is more about the process and the journey the artist follows than the end result or the means. So to me she is an amazing artist. As per now I can’t say the same about you.

[@nicolesumner1069]

I love the variety of shots of Amy in her studio- so empowering to see the HOW of her work, the WHERE and all the TOOLS

[@abundanceuniverse]

Such a brilliant woman and a magnificent artist!!

[@abnernelson7962]

I love how she even made paintings with dirtbikes

[@mimiseton]

Beautiful person & work. Clean, clear, and full of grace!

[@deroux]

Amy your work is beautiful.

[@dogdrawer]

Outstanding feature. Thank you. Really have been moved by Amy's work over the years - they are incredible how the level is so beautiful and sing out as her images. Moved to tears at times.

[@lauradill1447]

love this story... and artist!

[@nickrodis6862]

Thank you for sharing your art.

[@mnkyoussef2836]

Sooooooooo inspiring!!! ❤❤❤

[@moronsmorons]

These paintings made me cry , they are so beautiful , what an inspiration

[@r-cdmx]

Excellent. 👏🏽🙌🏽✨

[@pleiades.puppets]

Thanks for this! I'm very familiar with her work but have never seen an interview. This was great.

[@billcurran9729]

that was fantastic, thank you so much

[@BrooklynBloke]

Tuning in from NYC!

[@karenwink9223]

Amazing!!!

[@cpharrison2796]

Like so much of her work, this video feels like a poem.

[@PreachThePoet]

💕💕💕

[@TheKevphil]

I really appreciate her technical skill in the actual execution of the work. It means a lot to me to see that kind of obvious effort in the service of such striking, memorable art. I think her latest approach of exploring classic American imagery from a Black and contemporary perspective is inspired! Can her own reinterpretation of a Rockwell painting be in the works? ;) Success has not come to Amy overnight. I hope she has a long and satisfying career ahead.

[@rjbelo_]

in awe right now

[@lavettacannon3138]

❤

[@g5lisa]

I think using your perception is key! The way you portrayed Michelle makes her look as iconic as she is ❤

[@gapjin-art]

좋은 영상 감사합니다. 유익한 시간이었습니다

[@janetbecker408]

I really like your paintings

[@Chepizza]

❤❤❤

[@christianegonbarnthaler1426]

super art

[@AI-xs4fp]

When the discourse of painting being a relic of the past comes to an abrupt silence. 👏

[@RoosKohn]

When criticised or praised I always remark “of what you say some part is certainly also true” Then I let my shoulders drop as I stand strait with compassion.

[@zsuzsablom8731]

It is a pleasure to hear the thinking of a living artist. I applaud Michelle Obama for choosing Amy Sherald to paint her portrait. A bold and worthy step.

[@johnbeverly7236]

🍁

[@janetbecker408]

There's a grey Buddha Statue in my yard • and when it rains the gray becomes much deeper in value and allows me wonder and my mind wander ....... if we were all grey .. would all be great ~•~

[@user-pd6uw8bq1p]

*Naci,Amy,naci*

[@quuqeemonster]

She's a destroyer

[@Hobo613]

not sure how i feel about the appropriation of Breonna’s tragedy being highlighted for a fashion magazine; especially one that she would have never been asked to appear on otherwise…despite the approval of the family. i understand that it’s a high profile, very real loss, but i think it’s still in poor taste to glamorize her death in such a way.

[@maliksart]

REMAIN CREATIVE

[@Samuraitost]

I’m here because of 2pac

[@autofocus4556]

Her work is essentially what Hollywood is doing to classic movies and tv shows.

[@tthomas184]

Her portrait of Michelle Obama is by far her weakest work. It almost feels like she was overwhelmed and painted everything in washed out tones. And I think leaving out the beautiful garden behind her was a mistake. Too bad, as her work overall is stunningly beautiful. She has such a gift for color. I love the contrast between the flat graphic designs and the realism of the figures. And she seems so unassuming, a good quality to have as an artist and human being.

[@timetobenotdo]

The work is flat, shallow, and boring. And as portraiture goes, it’s low level.

[@jessejames8900]

I know right, she needs to study Vermeer, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Michelangelo...etc. I bet she doesn't because she doesn't like white people.

[@ITcanB]

The likeness in the Michelle Obama portrait is not that accurate something is off

[@cinereus3601]

horrible kitsch

[@Nothing-iz6hw]

Interesting narrative but boring to look at!

[@HarryBarry97]

Why do all the black painters only paint black people? Imagine if a white painter did that...

[@Watkinsstudio]

Most white painters only paint white people.

[@armorofgod777daggers]

Exodus 20:1-26 The Ten Commandments 20 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.