Secretary of State John Kerry will award painter Kehinde Wiley with the U.S. State Department Medal of Arts next week, during a ceremony on January 21st. The medal awards substantive commitment to the U.S. State Department’s cultural diplomacy outreach through the visual arts,” according to a release. (more…)
GQ is currently featuring an interview with painter Kehinde Wiley, profiling the artist on a recent trip to Morocco for his ongoing portraiture series. Charting the artist’s early life in South Central Los Angeles through his ascension in the art world, the piece offers a studied history of both Wiley’s life and output, including his famous portrait of Michael Jackson. Initially, “I ignored him, because quite honestly I thought it was a prank,” Wiley says. “Surprisingly, he was really knowledgeable about art and art history.” (more…)
Artist Kehinde Wiley recently spoke with The Economist about a new series of his immediately recognizable portraits, made during his travels in Israel. Part of his World Stage series, the new works explore new facets of the complex mesh of ethnic identities and personal politics at play in the Middle Eastern state. “Mostly I worked with friends of friends,” Mr Wiley says. “I wanted to work with males, ages 18 to 35, who in some way were dealing with or challenging the anxiety and narcissism of youth-entertainment culture.” (more…)
Kehinde Wiley, The Three Graces, all images courtesy Galerie Daniel Templon
Galerie Daniel Templon in Paris is presenting Kehinde Wiley’s first solo show in France, entitled The World Stage: France, 1880-1960. Wiley’s portraits feature mostly black and brown men on elaborate, baroque backgrounds, their natural stances modified by Wiley to echo the Napoleonic, kingly gestures of traditional portraits like those of Anthony van Dyck.
Kehinde Wiley, Bonaparte in the Great Mosque of Cairo
Kehinde Wiley discusses his new collection and artwork for Santigold’s album cover in an interview with Dazed Digital. “Aesthetically Santi and myself both have an abiding interest in finding parallels between cultures and genres.”
Kehinde Wiley, Judith and Holofernes (2012). All photos on site for Art Observed by Perrin Lathrop, © Kehinde Wiley.
For his debut exhibition at Sean Kelly Gallery, Kehinde Wiley embarks upon new territory: women. Titled An Economy of Grace, the series depicts African-American women selected straight from the streets of New York City. Wiley poses his subjects to mimic portraits of 18th and 19th Century society women by artists such as Jacques Louis David, Thomas Gainsborough and John Singer Sargent. Set against Wiley’s signature bold, decorative backgrounds, these women exude power and elegance—they refuse to be ignored. Reflecting on his decision to portray females, Wiley states, “I am painting women in order to come to terms with the depictions of gender within the context of art history.”
Kehinde Wiley (center) at the opening of ‘An Economy of Grace’ at Sean Kelly Gallery, May 5, 2012 (more…)
‪‬Collectors Michael Hort and wife Susan discuss with Forbes their collecting style, which includes works by Richard Prince, Marlene Dumas, Lisa Yuskavage, Cindy Sherman, Kehinde Wiley, and John Currin, as well as their Rema Hort Mann Foundation
‪‬Kehinde Wiley interviewed on his experiences growing up in LA, finding his father in Nigeria and creating art for more than art’s sake in which “symbols matter”
Kehinde Wiley at the opening of The World Stage: Israel at The Jewish Museum. All photos on site for Art Observed by Perrin Lathrop unless otherwise noted.
In the most recent iteration of his World Stage series, American artist Kehinde Wiley turns his eye on Israel. Wiley broadly considers The World Stage a project geared toward taking the “cultural temperature.” More specifically, the series represents a mission to picture young black men globally and has already brought the artist to India, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Lagos (Nigeria), Dakar (Senegal), and China. With The World Stage: Israel, now on view at The Jewish Museum in New York, Wiley brings the African and Jewish Diasporas into convergence.
‪‪‬Sean Kelly Gallery moves to new two-story 22,000 square foot space designed by Toshiko Mori at 36th and 10th—as Exit Art vacates the space—more than tripling the gallery’s current square footage as newly signed artists include Alec Soth, Kehinde Wiley, and most recently, Terrence Koh [AO Newslink]
‪‬Santigold painted by Kehinde Wiley for her The Master of My Make-Believe album cover, wearing Alexander Wang. This is Kehinde Wiley’s first female subject, based on Portrait of Sir Banastre Tarleton (1782) by Sir Joshua Reynolds. The album is out May 1st. [AO Newslink]
Kehinde Wiley, Alios Itzhak (2011), via Roberts & Tilton
Roberts & Tilton presents a new branch of Kehinde Wiley‘s The World Stage series entitled The World Stage: Israel. The artist traveled to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for inspiration for this particular set of works, which serve as a continuation of a dialogue on globalization that has included covered China, Africa, Logos-Dakar, Brazil and India. Wiley’s portraits of modern Israelis mix themes of classical portraiture with a sense of contemporary pomp.
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Chuck Close, mustache close-up of Lucas (1987-88), via ShowMedia
Throughout January, artwork by Chuck Close and Kehinde Wiley will travel New York City atop 500 taxi cabs, thanks to art enthusiast and ShowMedia president John Amato. With an estimated value of $100,000, Amato said, “I can do this as my annual holiday gift not just to myself, but to everyone who enjoys seeing the art as it travels around New York City’s streets.” ‘Art Adds’ is the second annual collaboration between ShowMedia and the Art Production Fund, a campaign bringing art to the streets for all to enjoy. The inaugural year featured Alex Katz, Shirin Neshat, and Yoko Ono.
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Kehinde Wiley, The Virgin Martyr St. Cecilia (2008), via ShowMedia
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Kehinde Wiley’s portait of Michael Jackson entitled Equestrian Portrait of King Phillip II at Deitch Projects
It is rumored that in years gone by determined collectors were dressing as janitors in order to sneak into Art Basel Miami Beach prior to its official opening in order to snatch the most coveted pieces before their rivals. While this kind of vigor has not returned to the fair since the economic crash stalled the art market in 2008, the mood at today’s VIP preview seemed to be reflect the the vote of confidence that was delivered to the American art market when active bidding returned to the floor of the Post-war and Contemporary Auctions in New York last month.
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Eight Elvises, which sold for $100 million in a private deal last year via TheEconomist
— The Economist has a downloadable special report on the art market, in it Sarah Thornton reports in an article on Warhol, in the wake of the sale of his work in the recent New York contemporary auctions for $43.8 million, that in August 2008 Andy Warhol’s singular “Eight Elvises” was sold privately to an unknown buyer for $100 million [Economist]
– Close to $100M of Russian art aims to be sold for Russian Art Week in London, where the vast growth of wealth in Russia allows for repatriation of that country’s works [Bloomberg] more on this here [WallStreetJournal]
A discerning look into some of the less disclosed but nevertheless driving forces and relationships behind various high profile exhibitions [Financial Times]
to stay apprised of the latest relevant news of the art world read more…
Two openings at Deitch took place September 3, 2009. In the smaller space on Grand Street in New York were presented works by Kehinde Wiley, an African-American artist known for paintings of contemporary hip-hop trend setters. His painting style is sophisticated and reminiscent of traditional portraitists works. However, in Kehinde Wiley’s current exhibit titled “Black Light”, one encounters a new path that the artist has taken in exploration of photographic medium. Still using historically rooted references, he creates portraits of often religious connotations apparent in the positioning of the subject depicted and in the very scale of the work. Kehinde Wiley, thus, transforms the subcultural stereotypes of urban African-American icons to a fantastical realm. “Art is illusion” he comments. The exhibit runs through September 27, 2009.
Related Links:
Kehinde Wiley [Kehinde Wiley]
Heroic Hip-Hoppers [Village Voice]
Kehinde Wiley is the LeBron James of the Art World [Dime Magazine]
Kehinde Wiley’s “Black Light” opens at Deitch [Papermag]
Kehinde Wiley at Deitch [The World’s Best Ever]
The artist, Kehinde Wiley at Deitch opening of his show “Black Light”
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Ed Ruscha’s ‘That Was Then This Is Now’ sold for £713,250, falling between estimates of £600,000-800,000, via Phillips de Pury
Phillips de Pury’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale realized £5.1 million last night, missing its low estimate of £5.4 million. With a much smaller and deeply discounted offering compared to last year’s sale, Phillips sold 30 out of 39 lots for a 77% sold-by-lot rate, beating last year’s rate of 66%. However, this year’s totals represent a 79% decrease in value as last year’s sale brought in £24.5 million. Conservative estimates helped, with many lots selling above their estimates. The highest selling lot was Ed Ruscha’s fittingly titled ‘That Was Then This Is Now,’ going for £713,250, including buyer’s premium, putting it in the middle of estimates of £600,000-800,000.
Contemporary Art Evening Sale [Phillips de Pury]
Ruscha Canvas Leads a London Sale [NY Times]
Phillips Contemporary: That Was Then, This Is Now [Artinfo]
Phillips Sells 77% of Contemporary Art in London on Discounts [Bloomberg]
Tracey Emin’s ‘Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1996’ via The Independent
In an act that summons issues of appropriation of artistic works, the Chapman brothers, just before Tracey Emin’s White Cube show in London, announce an unauthorized rebuild of Emin’s infamous tent which was destroyed by the same 2004 art storage warehouse fire that burned their work as well [The Independent]
Damien Hirst is looking for identical twins to sit in front of his spot paintings for 100 days in the Tate Modern [Boing Boing]
A Q&A with Michael Moses, co-creator of the Mei Moses Fine Art Index [Monocle]
Video from the opening of Museum Brandhorst in Munich via Vernissage TV
Video: The Museum Brandhorst, home of the Udo and Anette Brandhorst Collection, opens in Munich [Vernissage TV]
A couple volunteers to move their house into Miami MOCA for a Fritz Haeg work [Tuscaloosa News via Art in America]
Sanyu’s ‘Cat and Birds’ via Christie’s set a record at auction for Chinese oils
Hong Kong auctions small but strong [Bloomberg]
and in related, ART HK 09 successful despite market jitters and swine flu fears [Artforum]
Takeshi Murakami’s ‘The Emergence of God at the Reversal of Fate’ via SLAMXHYPE
A piece from Murakami that is 5 years in the making will be unveiled in Venice on the eve of the Biennale’s opening [Slamxhype]
Warhol authentication battle moves closer to trial [Art Newspaper]
Rendering of Jean Nouvel’s Louvre Abu Dhabi via LA Times
Construction begins on Jean Nouvel’s Louvre Abu Dhabi, expected to be completed in 2012 or 2013 [LA Times]
Edouard Manet’s ‘The Bohemian’ at Louvre Abu Dhabi via NY Times
In related, Carol Vogel gives a preview of what is to be exhibited the Louvre Abu Dhabi [NY Times]
and in further related, some of the works in the collection were bought in this spring’s Yves St. Laurent auction at Christie’s [Financial Times]
Kehinde Wiley’s ‘Jerry Valdes, After Titian’s (Tiziano Vecellio)’ via WSJ
Kehinde Wiley releases his first book of photographs [WallSreetJournal]
Indicted old masters dealer Larry Salander takes a job at an upstate NY gallery, selling his own paintings for $100 [Bloomberg]
Richard Serra, out-of-the-round X (1999). Album cover for Sunn O))), Monoliths & Dimensions (2009) via Frieze
Richard Serra’s work used for cover of SunnO)))’s new album Monoliths & Dimensions [Frieze]
and in related, Serra receives an honorary degree from alma mater Yale [AP]
and in further related, Yale is involved in a lawsuit over Van Gogh’s ‘The Night Café,’ allegedly stolen by the Soviet government in the 1920s [Hartford Courant via Art Market Monitor]
James Turrell’s ‘Unseen Blue’ at the James Turrell Museum via WSJ
A look at the newly-opened James Turrell Museum in Colomé, Argentina [WSJ]
A look at outsized artworks at this year’s Art Basel, featuring Sigmar Polke, Nan Goldin, Banks Violette and others [Artdaily]
and related, Frieze Art Fair announces it program for this October [Frieze]
Kehinde Wiley’s exhibition at Deitch Projects on Saturday Night photo by Art Observed
Kehinde Wiley opened his third solo show at Deitch Projects in SoHo last night. The exhibition, DOWN, includes seven large-scale portraits done in Wiley’s signature style. Kehinde Wiley is known for creating his own version of contemporary portraiture that appropriates young African American men in the place of more well known portraits of old world power figures, religious icons etc.. For his newest solo exhibition he has chosen to depict seven young men from Brooklyn in poses inspired by the fallen warriors and saints that appeared in the old 18th and 19th century paintings of Holbein, Mantegna, Houdon, Maderno, Retout and Clesinger. The young men are shown in old traditional poses of religious figures or leaders in the moment of death or repose, but their expressions and dress are wholly their own. The largest of the portraits is a breath taking 25 feet in length and has an asking price of $300,000. The exhibit will be on view until December 20th, 2008.
Art in Review; Kehinde Wiley [NYTimes]
Kehinde Wiley “Down” At Deitch Projects [Highsnobiety]
Kehinde Wiley on the Difference Between His Art and His Cooking [NYMag]
Kehinde Wiley at Deitch Projects [The Worlds Best Ever]
MIA interviews visual artist Kehinde Wiley [Interview Magazine]
Kehinde Wiley + Deitch [This Hearts On Fire]
Kehinde Wiley @ Deitch NY [Dailydujour]
Kehinde Wiley “Down” [Deitch Projects]
Rubin Singleton, Kehinde Wiley via Studio Museum Harlem
Kehinde Wiley is back at the Studio Museum Harlem, where he began his career as an artist-in-residence immediately after earning his MFA from Yale. This time, he is in the Studio Museum in the form of a solo show of his latest work “The World Stage: Africa, Lagos ~ Dakar.” Wiley is known for his portraiture of urban young African-American men painted in 18th and 19th-century style. In his “World Stage” series, Wiley is focusing on the urban black man in other countries, studying their history, culture and art. The ten paintings on display in the Studio Museum until October 26, 2008, are from his latest trip to Lagos, Nigeria and Dakar, Senegal.
Portraitist Kehinde Wiley temporarily sets up shop in Africa [TimeOut]
Kehinde Wiley, THE WORLD STAGE: AFRICA LAGOS~DAKAR [Studio Museum Harlem]
Colliding Worlds [The Morning News]
Toppling the Ivory Tower [The Art Newspaper]
Kehinde Wiley: Studio Museum in Harlem [ArtForum]
Kehide Wiley ” The World Stage: Arica, Lagos ~ Dakar” Exhibition [NY Art Beat] (more…)
Jake and Dinos Chapman via Telegraph UK
Jake, Dinos Chapman directing comedy on the art world [Telegraph UK]
Hedge-Funder Sender’s curator predicts art market “shakeout” [Bloomberg]
A Kehinde Wiley audio interview [Nat. Portrait Gallery via Norlos.com]
Julian Schnabel interviewed on the topic of film [Telegraph UK]
Waves of Russians buying choice contemporary treasures [Times UK]
