Kehinde Wiley creates vibrant images of black & brown bodies in classical & religious scenes reminiscent of historical masterpieces. His work has been featured in exhibitions domestically and abroad, including his most recent at the Paris Museum of Fine Arts.
And in Lucious’ office in Fox’s Empire. 😂
He writes, “I loved when I walked into Los Angeles County Museum of Art as a kid and seeing Kerry James Marshall’s grand barbershop painting. But it was thrown into very sharp relief when thinking about the absence of other black images in that museum. There was something absolutely heroic and fascinating about being able to feel a certain relationship to the institution and the fact that these people happen to look like me on some level.”
He continues, “At its best, what art does is, it points to WHO we as human beings and WHAT we as human beings value. And if Black Lives Matter, they deserve to be in paintings.”
KEEP GOING BLACK IN HISTORY:
Follow along with what’s keeping Kehinde busy these days on his Instagram.
THE AMERICAN BLACKSTORY 