The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco describe Kehinde Wiley:
An Archaeology of Silence as "the senseless deaths of men and women around the world... transformed into a powerful elegy of resistance".
Kehinde Wiley is an American portrait painter based in New York City, who is known for his highly naturalistic paintings of Black people, frequently referencing the work of Old Master paintings.
He was commissioned in 2017 to paint a portrait of former President Barack Obama for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, which has portraits of all previous American presidents.
The Columbus Museum of Art, which hosted an exhibition of his work in 2007, describes his work as follows: "Wiley has gained recent acclaim for his heroic portraits which address the image and status of young African-American men in contemporary culture".
Wiley was included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2018.
Wiley's artwork is revered around the world; he even painted a world leader with his (in) famous Barack Obama portrait.
Known for using symbolism and formats traditionally held for white people in positions of power and privilege, Wiley portrays Black men and women with rich, dark skin tones exuding the same amount of power and importance as the subjects in paintings and sculptures of the past.
Wiley is known for referencing the work of "old master" artists.
Old master refers to a renowned European painter or artwork prior to the 1800s.
These works ranged from paintings to sculptures of and by white people who were wealthy or had access to wealth.
Power dynamics played a large role, as art was either commissed or purchased by royalty, landowners, merchants, and statesmen.
Rarely seen were images of Black people, as they were enslaved or servants, left invisible in most works or visible only in the background.
It's ironic that Wiley’s transformative work honoring wounded or dead Black people originates from a term like old master.
Recognition and honors
In October 2011, Wiley received the Artist of the Year Award from the New York City Art Teachers Association/United Federation of Teachers.
He also received Canteen Magazine'.
Two of Wiley's paintings were featured on the top of 500 New York City taxi cabs in early 2011 as a collaboration with the Art Production Fund.
Wiley is featured in a commercial on the USA Network as a 2010 Character Honoree.
Puma AG commissioned Wiley to paint four portraits of prominent African soccer players.
Patterns from his paintings were incorporated into Puma athletic gear.
The complete series, Legends of Unity: World Cup 2010, was exhibited in early 2010 at Deitch Projects in New York City.
His work was exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery as part of the Recognize exhibit in 2008.
Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic, was a retrospective at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, VA), in the summer of 2016 (June 11 – September 5).
It displayed nearly 60 of his paintings and sculptures.
Il Museo delle Belle Arti di San Francisco descrive Kehinde Wiley:
"An Archaeology of Silence come "la morte insensata di uomini e donne in tutto il mondo... trasformata in una potente elegia di resistenza".
Kehinde Wiley (Los Angeles, 1977) è un pittore statunitense. È noto per i suoi ritratti di persone nere contemporanee fortemente realistici in pose eroiche, derivate dall'arte antica.
La sua carriera artistica è iniziata ritraendo uomini afro-americani della strada riprendendo le pose di modelli degli artisti classici.
In seguito ha dipinto numerosi personaggi famosi, sempre di colore, mischiando storia dell'arte e contemporaneità.
I suoi soggetti sono spesso rappresentati su sfondi con temi decorativi dalle tinte molto sgargianti.
Nell'ottobre 2017 è stato incaricato di ritrarre Barack Obama per la Smithsonian National Gallery of Portraits, il museo di Washington ove sono conservati i ritratti ufficiali dei presidenti statunitensi.
Sarà il primo pittore afroamericano ad esporre una propria opera nella galleria.
Le opere d'arte di Wiley sono venerate in tutto il mondo.
Noto per l'utilizzo di simbolismi e formati tradizionalmente riservati ai bianchi in posizioni di potere e privilegio, Wiley ritrae uomini e donne neri con tonalità della pelle ricche e scure che trasudano la stessa quantità di potere e importanza dei soggetti nei dipinti e nelle sculture del passato.
Wiley è noto per fare riferimento al lavoro di artisti "vecchi maestri".
Il vecchio maestro si riferisce ad un famoso pittore europeo o ad un'opera d'arte precedente al 1800.
Queste opere andavano dai dipinti alle sculture di bianchi che erano ricchi od avevano accesso alla ricchezza.
Le dinamiche di potere giocavano un ruolo importante, poiché l’arte veniva commissionata od acquistata da reali, proprietari terrieri, mercanti e statisti.
Raramente si vedevano immagini di neri, poiché erano schiavi o servi, lasciati invisibili nella maggior parte delle opere o visibili solo sullo sfondo.
È ironico che il lavoro di trasformazione di Wiley in onore dei neri feriti o morti abbia origine da un termine come "vecchio maestro".
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