Kehinde Wiley
Portrait of Derich Born Study
2006
Oil wash on paper
Framed size - 37 x 32 in

Executed in an oil wash on paper, this work by Kehinde Wiley entitled ‘Portrait of Derich Born (Study)’ exemplifies the artist’s iconic approach to the contemporary portrait. With his revamping of portraiture and an obvious nod towards traditional art, Wiley redefines historical periods and influences with contemporary urban elements, inserting African American youth into positions of power that at once challenge and critically analyze those who came before.

Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977) is best known for his portraits of young African-American men dressed in current 'street' fashion posed theatrically in the style of Old Master paintings, and set before contemporary abstract backgrounds and motifs. Blurring various styles together, Wiley employs iconography from the Italian Renaissance, French Rococo, Neoclassicism, as well as Islamic textiles and architecture in an innovative fusion of contemporary art which completely reinvents modern portraiture. Wiley received his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1999 and his MFA from Yale University in 2001. The artist has exhibited at numerous venues including the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington, DC), Deitch Projects (New York, NY), and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery (Washington, DC), among others.

Select Public Collections:
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY)
Brooklyn Museum of Art (Brooklyn, NY)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles, CA)
Columbus Museum of Art (Columbus, OH)
Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, MI)
Denver Museum of Art (Denver, CO)