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We have a lot of sort of received historical ways of viewing portraiture. And I suppose in some way I'm sort of questioning that by toying with the rules of the game.

Kehinde Wiley

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Kehinde Wiley
Age: 47
Born: 1977
Born: February 28
Painter
LA
California
Ways
Portraiture
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Viewing
Games
Questioning
Way
Received
Suppose
Historical
Rules
Game
Toying

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I think that's kind of indicative of a type of self-confidence that people develop when they recognize their own ability to create.
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I guess art is in the eye of the beholder.
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I think it was a matter of, like, I'm not going to have my kids in these wild streets. Both my twin brother and I were in art school together.
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[My parents] met in university back in the '70s. And I didn't grow up with my father. He - they separated before I was born.
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There's quite obviously the desire to open the rule sets that allow for inclusion or disclusion. I think that my hope would be that my work set up certain type of precedent, that allowed for great institutions, museums and viewers to see the possibilities of painting culture to be a bit more inclusive.
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I believe the artist is capable of contributing to the broader evolution of culture in all of its dimensions.
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That should be something that an artist can respond to as well in terms of a painting.
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Just physically, if you looked at the house that I grew up in, my mother created this greenhouse. And surrounded the entire property. And there was, like, trees and sculptures and like - it was, like, this crazy, like, secret garden space.
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In the end I'm in love with it [Western European easel painting]. And that's where a lot of the influence from the work comes from.
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The work that I wanted to create wasn't being done then. I was too much concerned about fellow students, professors, institutional style [in Yale].
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I think that one of the questions that I asked of myself in later years was to this point of the political directive.
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There's something really cool about being able to fly to South Africa and watch one of the most talented African footballers wearing a shoe on the field.
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I grew up in South Central Los Angeles, where people are in cars.
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I use those expectations as a color on my palette, a certain temperature in the room. You can use those expectations for the great punchline, but also for a great painting, in society.
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What's great about it is that painting doesn't move. And so in the 21st century, when we're used to clicking and browsing and having constant choice, painting simply sits there silently and begs you to notice the smallest of detail.
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The expectations of the viewer are what you're asking about. And the expectations of the viewer are manifold. However, they are very fixed, given who I am in the world. People have certain expectations of me as an artist.
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There is a political and racial context behind everything that I do. Not always because I design it that way, or because I want it that way, but rather because it's just the way people look at the work of an African-American artist in this country.
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I love being a portraitist.
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I was 11 when I was first introduced to live drawing classes and going to art school.
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