Awareness Post

Kehinde Wiley is an openly gay black artist born in Los Angeles, California, on February 28, 1977. He focuses on portraiture and painting Black people in a way that references "Old Master" works of art, artworks made in Europe before about 1800. Kehinde has done portraiture of many people, but most notable is his portrait of Former President Barrack Obama.

In an interview about the portrait, Wiley talks about how he had subtle elements in the pose to make Obama much more relaxed and authentic, showing off the Former President's personality in the portrait. He mentions the lack of tie, the forward-leaning pose in the chair, and the various flowers included that are from important places in Obama's life.

“Barack Obama,” 2017 Artwork by Kehinde Wiley

Saint Adelaide 2014, Stained Glass 96 x 43.5 in. Saint Amelie 2014, Stained Glass 96 x 43.5 in. The Tribute Money 2011, Oil on Canvas 78 x 72in.

I love these artworks in particular because of the emphasis put on the figures in each portrait. The way Wiley takes inspiration from much older works and incorporates it into modern-day art is very captivating. It is very impactful to me that he uses black subjects and puts them into kinds of artworks where they would not have been included normally. Plus, Wiley does this in such a way that where he relates them to important figures or royalty, and it demands your attention. His style of artwork is very inspiring and I plan to put more attention into my composition and posing because of it.