The girl next door 2019

Amy Sherald's ‘The Girl Next Door’ is a painting that plays with flatness and depth through its bold colors and careful composition. Sherald approaches painting like a choreographer, each element precisely placed to create a striking visual rhythm. I’m really drawn to how Sherald balances the flatness of the grey skin tones against the vibrant, almost cartoonish, polka dots on the dress. There's a tension between the real and the artificial, a kind of staged authenticity that I find really compelling. Look at the way she handles the red belt, how its crisp line cuts across the soft curves of the figure, anchoring her in the space. It's this attention to detail, this push and pull between elements, that makes the painting so engaging. Thinking about other artists, maybe someone like Barkley Hendricks comes to mind, in the way he also used flat grounds and bold color to center his subjects. Ultimately, Sherald's work reminds me that painting is a conversation, a way of seeing and being seen that's always open to new interpretations.