Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977, Los Angeles, California) is an American painter who lives and works between New York, Beijing, and Dakar. He is best known for his large-scale, highly naturalistic portraits of Black men and women, often depicted in poses derived from European Old Master paintings and set against ornate, decorative backgrounds. Wiley’s practice interrogates themes of power, representation, race, and art history, recontextualising traditional modes of portraiture to centre historically marginalised subjects. He gained widespread recognition with his 2018 official portrait of President Barack Obama. His work is held in major public collections including the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Tate, London. Wiley has received numerous honours, including the U.S. Department of State’s Medal of Arts. Widely recognised in the contemporary art market, his work is actively traded and commands strong prices, reflecting a robust and liquid market presence.