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She has painted Michelle Obama and her depiction of Breonna Taylor was called the most important painting of the 21st century. Now, in a new show, Sherald highlights Black subjects who are centre stage in America’s historical momentsAmy Sherald just needs 10 minutes. For the artist, a small period of alone time each morning is the goal, but it’s easier said than done. “I try to wake up before everybody and have 10 minutes of quiet,” says Sherald, who lives with her partner, Kevin Pemberton, and her mother. “Once [my mom] hears me up, she’s like: ‘Hello! It’s Amy and mom time,’” Sherald says with a laugh.Quiet time will come soon enough. But right now, the 49-year-old artist is busy packing for a month-long trip ahead of her first solo exhibition in Europe, The World We Make. The show is “a natural next step”, she says, employing her signature use of grisaille (“[I just say] I paint in black and white,” she jokes when I ask how to pronounce the French term). She uses the greyish tone in place of Black skin tones as a means of challenging marginalisation of her work, and to create language around her identity – in her words “bringing a kind of poetry to Black figuration”. Continue reading...