It is perhaps no surprise that Wiley’s oeuvre is a favorite among curators seeking to inject new relevance into their collection of European masters.
Kehinde Wiley
Posted inArt
Stained Glass Portrait by Kehinde Wiley Lights Up a UK Cathedral
Wiley’s stained glass panels swap out the religious figures for contemporary Black subjects.
Posted inArt
Kehinde Wiley Seizes the Throne
Wiley shows us that a Black man can indeed take the place of Napoleon.
Posted inIn Brief
Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley’s Portraits of the Obamas Get a National Tour
Starting in June 2021, the official portraits of Michelle and Barack Obama will leave the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC to tour five cities across the country.
Posted inOpinion
Kehinde Wiley, Wangechi Mutu, and Kara Walker Upstage the Monuments Debate
With recent monumental commissions, the artists focus on the imagination’s role in accounting for the past.
Posted inNews
Simone Leigh, Wangechi Mutu, Kehinde Wiley, and Vinnie Bagwell In the Running for New Central Park Memorial
The artists were selected as finalists to replace a statue of J. Marion Sims, a 19th-century doctor who conducted violent surgeries on enslaved Black women.
Posted inNews
In Times Square, Kehinde Wiley Unveils a Massive Monument to Black Identity
Wiley is contributing his own public monument to American history, which will later join 10 Confederate sculptures in Richmond, Virginia.
Posted inNews
Trump Satirizes Kehinde Wiley’s Obama Portrait to Fundraise 2020 Reelection Bid
The president’s action committee is selling the shirt, labeled “SPY” through its gift shop for $28.00. It also comes as a tank top.
Posted inArt
Kehinde Wiley’s Painted Elegies for Ferguson
The subjects of Wiley’s Ferguson paintings launch a vibrant dialogue between the canvas of the painting and the canvas of the body.
Posted inNews
Obama Portraits Bring Record Traffic to National Portrait Gallery
On March 24 alone, the day of the March For Our Lives, 35,968 people visited the museum.
Posted inArt
The Obama Portraits and the History of African American Portraiture
Like many African American portraitists, Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley represent the Obamas as themselves, and as more than themselves.
Posted inArt
Searching for Trends at the Armory Show with Empty Pockets and a Drink in Hand
The strength of the Armory Show — now in its 24th year — is that, just like a mall, I know exactly what to expect when I go there.