Saint Woman 2015

Amy Sherald's painting titled "Saint Woman" presents us with a figure rendered with a distinctive approach to both color and form. Notice how Sherald handles skin tone: it’s rendered in grayscale, which flattens the image and asks us to think about color and artmaking itself. The interplay of the bright yellow background, the turquoise of the dress and the monochromatic figure generates a striking contrast. Her paintings often feature subjects looking away, lost in thought, or perhaps looking forward to new experiences. I particularly love the folds of her dress, there’s something really satisfying about the subtle shifts in tone that bring this garment to life. Sherald's work reminds me a little of Alex Katz. It plays with flatness, and with the way colors interact and speak to one another. Sherald invites us to consider the complexities of identity and representation, leaving room for questions rather than offering easy answers.