Kehinde Wiley: DOWN at Deitch Projects

The Lamentation over the Dead Christ

A Dead Soldier

Femme Piquee Par Un Serpent

The Veiled Christ

The Virgin Martyr St. Cecilia

Morpheus

I first discovered Kehinde Wiley late last year and was dumb struck as to why I haven't heard about his amazing work before, he is a true artist. His renditions of classical artwork into a modern day language are seamless. The title of the collection DOWN at Deitch Projects speaks volumes as to the state of Black men in America and is easily related to all black men around the world, it's a struggle. He is able to take the masculinity of the Black man and transform it into a form able to tell a story of life and death, despair and vulnerability, a rare depiction of what the Black man is usually portrayed as in mass media. The colours are vibrant and most of his paintings have flowers included with nature used to connect the subject to the environment that it is in. I deeply appreciate his work and the direction he has chosen to take as an artist. To see more of his paintings visit his online studio here.

Kehinde Wiley has also recently announced that he will be launching a clothing line (Thank GOD!) and has been approached by Puma to design clothing and accessories for the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa. I will keep you posted as the updates flow in. Below are a few pictures of some of his first clothing designs.

BTW: LOVE HER HAIR!!!!