He is known for taking the black figure and painting them in royal traditional styles that you would usually find with European figures like the king, queen or noblemen.
The best part about this is that he has done famous people as well and he does it all from live subjects! meaning he gets his model and they pose for him while he paints. The subjects also pick which historical picture they want to portray although not all of them need to come from something historical.
There is an exhibit currently being held for Wiley showcasing fourteen years of his work at the Brooklyn Museum (click to go directly to the page talking about Kehinde). The exhibit is going to be up until May 24, 2015 so you have some time if you wanna check it out but I suggest going this Saturday because the museum is a having a free first Saturday where you can party it up AND see Kehinde for FREE.
And if you don't live in NY don't worry, click here for some pics people have captured on twitter. Or I guess you could google but this is more fun right?
Okay so one more thing before we get to the pictures, I've seen Wiley's work at the BK Museum before but I've only seen male figures. In this new exhibit it shows both male and female which are just beautiful and I haven't seen before. He also has some bronze bust work that are just so detailed. Anyway lets get to it!
Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic
Just look how vibrant his colors are. It blows my mind that our eyes can even pick this up. And these portraits are larger then life they are massive.
See the detail on the bronze? Like he captured a black woman's facial expression so beautifully. The lips, nose, everything! and look at the detail on the cross. He even gave her hoop earrings. How do you even do that?
Oh my god and the hair!
There was actually a fee other pieces like this down the fall but this is the one I connected with the most. I think it's suppose to be the disciples. If not, it's still very church related. He also did some work with stain glass like the windows you see in churches.
I love this one! the colors are so peaceful and I like how the pink looks with the birds and the dark background.
My mom really liked this one I find it interesting. He obviously has a black panther (black power movement) patch on his jacket but the octopus I'm half sure has to do with Hitler I could be wrong those are just my personally observations.
This painting is part of Kehinde's first series on the woman figure and her gown is designer by Riccardo Tisci.
E.L Destiny
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