A picture of two men locking lips should shock no one in 2022. But when the image references the famous Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic photo of a couple kissing in Times Square (a U.S. Navy sailor and a total female stranger in the original), then we have to sit up and pay attention. That the two men also happen to be black should alert us to the presence of a socially conscious, confident artist. Then, again, when the artist is @asherald, the #painter who immortalised the former #FirstLady, #MichelleObama, you know you’re in safe hands. The American is having her first solo exhibition, "The World We Make", at @hauserwirth until 23rd December. Sherald’s style is an unusual one. Her work contrasts the skin-stark monochrome of her subjects against the bright colour palette of her backgrounds. "For Love, And for Country", the aforementioned piece, is a good example. The sky-blue the two men sit against is of the richest type. The artist’s mission is simple: to reclaim space for black people. To put them (us) centre stage. Whether this involves a black man in dungarees sitting on a tractor, or two boys on dirt bikes, their machines rearing up like two horses, it doesn’t matter. The visitor is drawn into a world they might never have envisioned, but which, after a while, begins to make sense. #SavileRow, where the gallery Hauser & Wirth is located, might be home to some of the more famous tailors in the world. It is also now the temporary residence of a cutting-edge, forward-thinking artist who’s at the top of her game. Even if the top is the uppermost level of a slide. #Cuban #Immigrant #Londoner https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/cuban-immigrant-and-londoner #Londres #Londinense #cycling #cyclinglife #bicyclelife #bicycles #visitbritain #visitengland #visitlondon #strava #stravaphotos #stravacycling #streetphotography #urbanlandscape #photography #VSCO (at Hauser & Wirth) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkJ1oTzIeGe/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
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