artist kehinde wiley receives state department honors

Kehinde Wiley,Portrait of Anne Cynthia Petit Vil (The World Stage: Haiti), 2014.Oil on linen.60 x 48 in (152 x 122 cm).Courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.

Yesterday afternoon, New York-based painter Kehinde Wiley received US State Department Medal of Arts from Secretary of State John Kerry during a ceremony held at the State Department. Wiley’s Santos Dumont – The Father of Aviation III will be displayed on temporary exhibition at the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence in London as a part of the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies program.

Kehinde Wiley, Alios Itzhak (The World Stage: Israel), 2011. Oil and enamel on canvas. 95.93 x 72 in (243.7 x 182.9 cm). Collection of the Jewish Museum, NY. Purchase: Gift of Lisa and Steven Tananbaum Family Foundation; Gift in honor of Joan Rosenbaum by the Contemporary Judaica, Fine Arts, Photography, and Traditional Judaica Acquisitions Committee Funds, 2011-31. Courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.

Wiley’s large-scale works often feature African American subjects (some well known, like LL Cool J or Ice T) rendered in the style of high European portraiture, often depicting these subjects in classic religious contexts or among lush rococo ornamentation. Next month, the Brooklyn Museum will present Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic, the first museum survey of his work.

Credits

Text Emily Manning
Lead image Kehinde Wiley, Santos Dumont – The Father of Aviation III, 2009. Oil on canvas, 7 x 9 ft (2 x 2.7 m). Courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.