The moment you step into the exhibition “A New Republic” by Kehinde Wiley on the fifth floor of the Brooklyn museum, you are embraced with a sense of equality. You look around and all you see are black men and women captured in various mediums by the artist where you can clearly see the uniqueness. At the center of the exhibit are glass stain portraits; sculptures surround half the room and the other half has 22k gold leaf, oil on wood panel or oil on linen paintings. The paintings are large in size and cover most of the walls. His art is unique because it challenges classical Western paintings by replacing Caucasian subjects with famous and regular black individuals. This way he gives back voice to the group who has been suppressed in the realm of visual culture during the conception of the original paintings. Wiley uses vibrant, bright colors and thick brush strokes to glorify and center the figures. It is a must visit for those who want to see a different spin on the classical Western art.
Kehinde Wiley, a New York based portrait painter, has been working on placing black subjects in Western paintings since 2001. He was born in Los Angeles, …show more content…
Michael Jackson sits on the top of King Phillip’s horse emitting the same power and glory as the king. He did the painting in 2009, right after the pop star’s death. This painting shows that all men are fit to be King, despite his race. On the top right of the painting are two angels, one black and one white, their arms entwined. The angels seem to be friends and close to each other, showing that friendship, innocence and holiness has nothing to do with race. This concept is quite rare as angels are usually seen in paintings in a milky white skin color, since white represents purity. Here, we can see that angels can be black too and equally innocent and
Kehinde Wiley, a New York based portrait painter, has been working on placing black subjects in Western paintings since 2001. He was born in Los Angeles, …show more content…
Michael Jackson sits on the top of King Phillip’s horse emitting the same power and glory as the king. He did the painting in 2009, right after the pop star’s death. This painting shows that all men are fit to be King, despite his race. On the top right of the painting are two angels, one black and one white, their arms entwined. The angels seem to be friends and close to each other, showing that friendship, innocence and holiness has nothing to do with race. This concept is quite rare as angels are usually seen in paintings in a milky white skin color, since white represents purity. Here, we can see that angels can be black too and equally innocent and