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Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley (born February 28, 1977) is an American portrait painter based in New York City. He is known for his naturalistic paintings of Black subjects that reference the work of Old Master paintings. In 2017, Wiley was commissioned to paint former U.S. President Barack Obama's portrait for the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. The Columbus Museum of Art hosted an exhibition of his work in 2007 and describes his paintings as "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 was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1977. His father, Isaiah D. Obot, is Ibibio, from Nigeria, and his mother, Freddie Mae Wiley, is African American. He has a twin brother.
As a child, Wiley's mother enrolled him and his siblings in art classes after school with the intention of keeping them engaged in constructive activities. At age 11, Wiley and his brother were selected, along with 48 other children, to study briefly at an art conservatory near St. Petersburg, Russia. There, Wiley developed a strong interest in portraiture. Wiley has said that his brother was better at portraiture than he was, which fueled a sense of friendly competition between them. The siblings would compete to see who could recreate the most realistic images. After returning to the United States, Wiley continued studying art and attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.
Wiley's father, Isaiah, was a Nigerian student who came to the US on scholarship. He returned to Nigeria upon finishing his studies,[12] leaving Wiley's mother, Freddie, to raise the couple's six children on her own.[13] Wiley has said that his family survived on welfare checks and the limited income earned by his mother's "thrift store"—a patch of sidewalk outside their home.[14] At age 20, Wiley traveled to Nigeria to meet his father and explore his family roots.[15]
In 1999, Wiley earned a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. He received a scholarship to attend the Yale University School of Art, and completed an MFA in 2001. Wiley has said his most important lesson in art school was to focus on making the work he wanted to make, rather than the work he thought professors wanted him to make.[1]
Wiley received an honorary DFA from Yale University in 2024.
Kehinde Wiley is a portrait painter whose monumental works use bold color and engage themes of race and representation. He has been described as among contemporary artists seeking to address racial power dynamics through art. After receiving the commission to paint former United States President Barack Obama, Wiley gained wider attention, exhibiting in multiple international shows and exhibiting in such places as Cuba, Nigeria, and Los Angeles.
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Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley (born February 28, 1977) is an American portrait painter based in New York City. He is known for his naturalistic paintings of Black subjects that reference the work of Old Master paintings. In 2017, Wiley was commissioned to paint former U.S. President Barack Obama's portrait for the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. The Columbus Museum of Art hosted an exhibition of his work in 2007 and describes his paintings as "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 was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1977. His father, Isaiah D. Obot, is Ibibio, from Nigeria, and his mother, Freddie Mae Wiley, is African American. He has a twin brother.
As a child, Wiley's mother enrolled him and his siblings in art classes after school with the intention of keeping them engaged in constructive activities. At age 11, Wiley and his brother were selected, along with 48 other children, to study briefly at an art conservatory near St. Petersburg, Russia. There, Wiley developed a strong interest in portraiture. Wiley has said that his brother was better at portraiture than he was, which fueled a sense of friendly competition between them. The siblings would compete to see who could recreate the most realistic images. After returning to the United States, Wiley continued studying art and attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.
Wiley's father, Isaiah, was a Nigerian student who came to the US on scholarship. He returned to Nigeria upon finishing his studies,[12] leaving Wiley's mother, Freddie, to raise the couple's six children on her own.[13] Wiley has said that his family survived on welfare checks and the limited income earned by his mother's "thrift store"—a patch of sidewalk outside their home.[14] At age 20, Wiley traveled to Nigeria to meet his father and explore his family roots.[15]
In 1999, Wiley earned a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. He received a scholarship to attend the Yale University School of Art, and completed an MFA in 2001. Wiley has said his most important lesson in art school was to focus on making the work he wanted to make, rather than the work he thought professors wanted him to make.[1]
Wiley received an honorary DFA from Yale University in 2024.
Kehinde Wiley is a portrait painter whose monumental works use bold color and engage themes of race and representation. He has been described as among contemporary artists seeking to address racial power dynamics through art. After receiving the commission to paint former United States President Barack Obama, Wiley gained wider attention, exhibiting in multiple international shows and exhibiting in such places as Cuba, Nigeria, and Los Angeles.