Photos by Michael Thompson.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ latest exhibition brings a popular, contemporary American artist to the fore.
“Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic” opens Saturday, June 11, and runs until Sept. 5.
The exhibition is a mid-career retrospective of the American painter Kehinde Wiley. Born in 1977 in Los Angeles, Wiley got an MFA from Yale University in 2001 and was an artist in residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Wiley’s paintings, sculptures and stained glass depict African-American men and women in poses inspired by traditional European portraiture.
Drawing from public and private collections and organized by the Brooklyn Museum, “A New Republic” puts more than 50 of Wiley’s works on view. VMFA director Alex Nyerges said in remarks made at a Wednesday press event that Wiley is one of the “hottest artists not just in the U.S. but on the planet.” He noted that the VMFA was one of the first museums to acquire a Wiley in 2006. A lecture being given by Wiley at the VMFA this Friday sold out in two hours.
It costs $12 to see “A New Republic,” $10 for seniors and students, and admission is free for members. The exhibit will travel to Phoenix, Arizona; Toledo, Ohio; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Previous exhibitions at the VMFA have focused on French sculptor Auguste Rodin and French painter Vincent Van Gogh.
Photos by Michael Thompson.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ latest exhibition brings a popular, contemporary American artist to the fore.
“Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic” opens Saturday, June 11, and runs until Sept. 5.
The exhibition is a mid-career retrospective of the American painter Kehinde Wiley. Born in 1977 in Los Angeles, Wiley got an MFA from Yale University in 2001 and was an artist in residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Wiley’s paintings, sculptures and stained glass depict African-American men and women in poses inspired by traditional European portraiture.
Drawing from public and private collections and organized by the Brooklyn Museum, “A New Republic” puts more than 50 of Wiley’s works on view. VMFA director Alex Nyerges said in remarks made at a Wednesday press event that Wiley is one of the “hottest artists not just in the U.S. but on the planet.” He noted that the VMFA was one of the first museums to acquire a Wiley in 2006. A lecture being given by Wiley at the VMFA this Friday sold out in two hours.
It costs $12 to see “A New Republic,” $10 for seniors and students, and admission is free for members. The exhibit will travel to Phoenix, Arizona; Toledo, Ohio; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Previous exhibitions at the VMFA have focused on French sculptor Auguste Rodin and French painter Vincent Van Gogh.