possible by the sale of Sherald's portrait of Breonna Taylor made in 2020 to the Ford Foundation and the Sherald considers exhibiting outside the U.S. to be her greatest achievement since the triumph of her Obama portrait, describing it as a lifelong dream. I got the impression, however, that her eyes are already set on the next prize. expressions of self-sovereignty in our communities, and how these expressions might carry into the future.

the iconic pose through another understanding of masculinity. Sherald hopes to offer the viewer a reflection Sherald’s father died of Parkinson’s disease when she was 28. Her brother died from lung cancer at 36. She has navigated her own serious health problems, receiving a heart transplant at 39. “I just really understand that life is short and that waking up today [is] the best thing that could ever happen,” she says. reminding us of the transient nature of childhood and the vulnerabilities inherent to it. The title of the exhibition, a search for a road and a search for freedom'. In a large-scale diptych over 3-metres tall entitled 'Deliverance' When Sherald discovered dirt bike culture after moving to Baltimore in her 20s for her MFA, it left a lasting impression. When she asked her models what they loved about riding, they explained that it gives them a sense of freedom. “I read that as freedom from oppression,” she said, when I met her shortly after the show’s installation, just in time for Frieze week.

I’ve had conversations with other artists who feel as if their work has to create teaching moments about history and our struggle. But I wonder, when do we breathe? There has to be room for a range of experiences, because if there isn’t, how do we evolve?’—Amy Sherald, 2021 [1] living through, we have a world to remake', a message that at once contains hope, while suggesting there is

I really believe there’s a transference of energy from a model to the painter to the brush to the canvas,” she explained. “There’s some people that I’ve photographed that didn’t feel like they were weighted enough or there wasn’t enough… not life, but maybe a weathered soul. He’s a young man who takes life seriously and I just felt moved to paint him. It’s an intuitive thing.” How can today’s generation of contemporary artists take inspiration from Amy Sherald’s artistic process relating to the intersections of photography and painting?body of work, she continues this practice while confronting the Western canon through allusions to significant