KEHINDE WILEY

Kehinde Wiley

February 28, 1977 was a great day for the art community as it was the birth of Kehinde Wiley. Wiley grew up in South-central Los Angeles with his mother and brother. Seeing their artistic ability and potential, his mother enrolled both of her children in after school art classes to keep them away from the violence of the community. Wiley developed what he calls the “art bug” and this is what drove him to pursue his interest in art.

Kehinde Wiley is an African-American painter who depicts Black Americans in the grand poses that are typical of European and American portraiture. An accomplished and innovative artist, he has received many accolades. In 2011 he was named the Artist of the Year by New York City Art Teachers Association/United Federation of Teachers. In addition, Wiley was awarded the Canteen Magazine's Artist of the Year Award. He was commissioned to create a portrait of Barack Obama for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery along with Amy Sherald. In fact, Kehinde Wiley is the first Black American artist to paint official portraits for the National Portrait Gallery. 

Wiley has made a legacy for himself, inspiring so many people in the process. He

decided to use the grand European and American portraiture style to show African Americans in

places of glory. He shifts the racial imbalance that has been around for hundreds of years, portraying men and women in grandiose, inspiring, and powerful ways. Overall, Wiley gives individuals the representation that has been suppressed by showing them as beautiful, glorious, and worthy human works of art throughout galleries and museums across the United States.

~Isabelle '23

Sources:

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/wiley-kehinde/