About
For thirty eight years I have concentrated my artistic development in the medium of sculpture, specifically bronze and steel casting. In my treatment of patina and surface ornamentation, I have been heavily influenced by the sculpture of Benin and Egypt. Further inspiration came from the philosophy of African sculptors who expressed the idea that there was a spiritual relationship between the artist and their work. An example of this can be seen in my Black Woman Series which depicts a segment of life through a group of seventeen bronze sculptures. The essence of these works is driven by the timeless and universal personalities of Africans and African Americans, as well as others whose origin is Africa. The faces of these women and the myriad stories told in them are not products of chance or accident. They are eons in the making, their spirituality is timeless. The Black Woman Series is a translation of this agelessness into a language that is uniquely my own.
My second major body of work was my Knowledge of Man (KOM) Series I & II which began in the 1970’s with line drawings and became three dimensional. In a group of twenty six works, KOM I was influenced by Egyptian head crowns and the West African practice of head shaping. These influences would guide me in my development. KOM II are contemporary pieces inspired by the choreography of Martha Graham and infused with African elements. The fluidity of movement is highlighted by a spectrum of patinas ranging from warm browns to striking jade greens and brilliant turquoises. The body of work comes as a metaphor to symbolize the ramifications that result from i.e. Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, etc. and other examples of destruction of our environment and planet.
Some of the major sculpture commissions I have received have been from the City of New York; the County of Westchester The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Westchester County Courthouse; The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga of Roland Hayes; the Apollo Theater’s Hall of Fame; the Selchow and Righter Company; the City of Yonkers, the Alfred B. DeBello Sculpture. My work has been shown from Madison Avenue and Soho in New York, and the Miracle Mile in Chicago, to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, in many group and one-man exhibitions throughout the U.S.A. since 1972. It was previously featured as part of the set design on the NBC weekly television program “ESSENCE”, and seen around the world via ABC, CBS, WNET-TV, WPIX-TV, WOR-TV and cable networks since 1986. I have been featured in many newspaper and magazine articles including: The New York Times/Westchester Magazine, the Daily News Magazine, Black Enterprise, Essence, Jet, and the International Review of African American Art.
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SELECTED COMMISSIONS, RESIDENCES, AND GRANTS
ALFRED B. DELBELLO PLAQUE, CITY OF YONKERS — 2020
WESTCHESTER COUNTY , WHITE PLAINS, NY — 2007
CITY OF WHITE PLAINS, NY — 2003
LEOR CORPORATION, NY — 2003
WESTCHESTER ARTS ALIVE GRANT - 2002, 2001, 2000
AARON DAVIS HALL RENAISSANCE AWARD, NEW YORK ,1998, 1999, 2000
THE FIFTH ANNUAL CANDICE AWARDS -1997, 1989
NATIONAL BAR INSTITUTE , WASHINGTON, D.C. - 1995
GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF SPECIAL PROJECTS AND PROTOCOL, NEW YORK - 1998
THE APOLLO THEATER HALL OF FAME - 1987
CITY OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK - 1984
THE SELCHOW AND RIGHTER COMPANY, NEW YORK - 1983
ARTISTS IN SCHOOLS PROGRAM, STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM, NEW YORK- 1978
CITY OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK - 1978
ROLAND HAYES , UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE at CHATTANOOGA, TN - 1978
WESTCHESTER ARTS COUNCIL CETA - 1977
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
I CAN’T BREATHE ,MT. VERNON LIBRARY , MT. VERNON , NY - 2022
MILTON SHERRILL AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF MAN, ISOBEL NEAL GALLERY,
CHICAGO,IL - 1994
MILTON SHERRILL AND THE BLACK WOMAN SERIES ISOBEL NEAL GALLERY,
CHICAGO,IL - 1989
BRONZE SCULPTURE: KNOWLEDGE OF MAN, RANDALL GALLERIES, LTD. NY - 1983
MILTON SHERRILL: RECENT DRAWINGS AND SCULPTURE , RANDALL GALLERIES,
LTD. NY -1981
MILTON SHERRILL
SCULPTURE BY MILTON SHERRILL , STUDIO MUSEUM OF HARLEM - 1977
PRATT INSTITUTE , BROOKLYN, N.Y. - 1976
THE COUNTEE CULLEN LIBRARY, NY - 1976
MOUNT VERNON COOPERATIVE COLLEGE, NY - 1976
SUNY COLLEGE OF OLD WESTBURY, NY- 1974
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
ARTS FESTIVAL OF ATLANTA , GA - 1996
M’PRINT FINE ART GALLERY, ATLANTA, GA - 1996
ISOBEL NEAL GALLERY, CHICAGO, IL. - 1994
THE MEMPHIS COOK CONVENTION CENTER, MEMPHIS,TN - 1990
THE PAN AFRICAN FILM AND ART FESTIVAL , LOS ANGELES,CA - 1990
THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES, CA - 1985
THE DEVERSON GALLERY, LOS ANGELES,CA - 1985
THE LANDAU GALLERY, LOS ANGELES, CA - 1985
FEDERAL MEMORIAL HALL, NEW YORK, NY - 1984
NATIONAL SCULPTURE SOCIETY , NEW YORK,NY - 1985
RANDAL GALLERIES ,LTD. NEW YORK, NY. - 1983
AKRUM GALLERY, LOS ANGELES, CA - 1980
RANDALL GALLERIES , LTD. NEW YORK,NY - 1980
WORLD TRADE CENTER, NEW YORK, NEW YORK - 1980
35 UNDER 35 , NEW YORK URBAN LEAGUE, NEW YORK, NY. - 1980
NEUBERGER MUSUEM, PURCHASE , NY - 1978
FOXWORTH GALLERY, NEW YORK, NEW YORK - 1978
AMERICAN CAN COMPANY, GREENWICH, NY. - 1977
MOUNT VERNON FINE ARTS FESTIVAL , MT. VERNON, NY - 1977
PRATT INSTITUTE, NEW YORK, NY - 1976
SUNY STONEY BROOK , NY. - 1974
COOPER UNION, NEW YORK, NEW YORK - 1972
EDUCATION
PRATT INSTITUTE , NEW YORK, NY — MFA
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK - B.A.
COPPER UNION