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Kehinde Wiley at the National Gallery: The Prelude

Kehinde Wiley at the National Gallery: The Prelude
Library Shelf Location 18.WILE
Publication Date Dec 2021
Description

The American artist Kehinde Wiley (b.1977) is best known for his spectacular portraits that position people of colour in the traditional settings of old master paintings, raising questions about power, privilege and identity, and highlighting the absence or marginalisation of Black figures within European art. In 2017 he was commissioned to paint Barack Obama, becoming the first Black artist to create an official portrait of a President of the United States. In this new collaboration with the National Gallery, London, Wiley departs from portraiture to explore the artistic conventions and canons of the Western landscape tradition - mountainous, coastal, sublime and transcendental - through film and painting. In the process he touches upon contemporary issues such as climate change and migration, making particular reference to the Romantic wanderer figure in search of spirituality or self-discovery. This book presents his new works, exploring the themes of European Romanticism and its focus on epic scenes of oceans and mountains, alongside a selection of the National Gallery's masterpieces.

ISBN 9781857096774
Quantity 1
Pages 112
Authors Christine Riding, Sarah Thomas, Zoé Whitley
Format Hardback
Publisher National Gallery Company Ltd
Category Artists' Monographs A-Z
Keywords Portraits, People of colour, Power, Privilege, Identity, climate change, Migration, Marginalisation, European Art
Related Event Kehinde Wiley at the National Gallery: The Prelude
Related Gallery National Gallery, London
Artist's Nationality American (USA)
Language English

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