London life: artist Kehinde Wiley at the National Gallery

The National Gallery in London currently has an exhibition by American artist, Kehinde Wiley that you simply must not miss. Most famously known around the world as the artist commisisoned to create the official portrait of President Barak Obama, Kehinde Wiley’s exhibition in London is compact but packs a real power punch.

Consisting of a series of large scale paintings and a film, the exibition captures everyday Londoners in the artist’s unique style. I had read about Kehinde Wiley before, however, I booked a talk at the Gallery by art historian, Aindrea Emelife who gave an insightful presentation on the artist, the history and politics behind his creations and connected currrent politics and discussions about identity beyond Kehinde Wiley to the broader art and museum world. Aindrea’s talk helped me gain a much better understanding and appreciation of the artist and the context.

Kehinde Wiley is best known for portraits that render people of colour, mostly Black men, in the traditional settings of Old Master paintings, particularly European Romanticism and its focus on epic scenes of oceans and mountains and classic portrait settings. Kenhinde Wiley’s pastiche of famous paintings recreated with Black figures creates an impact not just in the beauty of them.

The exibition ends on 18 April 2022, entry is free find details of the exhibition here and read more about Aindrea Emelife here.