Kehinde Wiley creates painted portraits of everyday people imitating poses found in famous paintings. He started by painting people he met on the streets of Harlem and has since gone all over the world to find models for his paintings. He combines people from urban settings with symbols of wealth, power, and history. He is known for a style where he uses symbolic painted patterns in both the background and in front of his models.
"For most of Kehinde Wiley’s very successful career, he has created large, vibrant, highly patterned paintings of young African American men wearing the latest in hip hop street fashion. The theatrical poses and objects in the portraits are based on well-known images of powerful figures drawn from seventeenth- through nineteenth-century Western art. "
-http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/recognize/paintings.html
http://www.kehindewiley.com
"For most of Kehinde Wiley’s very successful career, he has created large, vibrant, highly patterned paintings of young African American men wearing the latest in hip hop street fashion. The theatrical poses and objects in the portraits are based on well-known images of powerful figures drawn from seventeenth- through nineteenth-century Western art. "
-http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/recognize/paintings.html
http://www.kehindewiley.com