The Toledo Museum of Art explores ideas of race, gender and the politics of representation through a powerful exhibition of 60 paintings and sculptures spanning the 14-year career of contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley. On view Feb. 10-May 14, 2017, Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic delves into the artist’s earliest explorations of the male figure, his unique take on Old Master portraiture and his later forays into portraits of women, sculpture and stained glass. The exhibition is organized by the Brooklyn Museum.
Wiley’s work is characterized by his collaborative “street casting” process. He invites individuals, often strangers he has met through encounters on the street, to sit for portraits. The models comb through catalogues featuring reproductions of Old Master paintings of the Renaissance through 19th century and select works to reenact, ultimately giving them a measure of control over the way they are portrayed.
“Art has an immense capability to spur discussion around subjects that are as important as they are challenging,” said Brian P. Kennedy, TMA director, president and CEO. “Artists frequently use their work to comment on, and draw attention to, social issues. Wiley draws visitors in with his vibrant, oversized works, but it’s the conversations they generate and the questions they raise that keep viewers’ attention.”
The subjects in Wiley’s paintings wear hip hop fashion as they recreate grand Old Master portraits, putting a contemporary twist on the symbolism found in those works. By replacing the European aristocrats depicted in these paintings with contemporary black subjects, Wiley draws attention to the absence of African Americans from historical and cultural narratives.
“TMA’s collection of Old Master works gives a unique context for this exhibition,” said Halona Norton-Westbrook, TMA director of collections. “It allows for a richer dialogue about the themes of power and status that run through both these classic portraits and Wiley’s contemporary works.”
The exhibition includes a selection of Wiley’s World Stage paintings, begun in 2006, in which he takes his street casting process to other countries, widening the scope of his collaboration.
Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic is curated by Eugenie Tsai, the John and Barbara Vogelstein Curator of Contemporary Art, Brooklyn Museum. A fully illustrated catalogue published by the Brooklyn Museum and DelMonico Books • Prestel accompanies the exhibition.
The touring exhibition is made possible by the Henry Luce Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and Grey Goose Vodka. Additional support is provided by Sotheby’s, Ana and Lenny Gravier, Sean Kelly Gallery, Stephen Friedman Gallery, John and Amy Phelan, Roberts & Tilton, and Pamela K. and William A. Royall, Jr.
The Toledo showing is presented in part by Welltower, a Toledo-based REIT, with additional support from 2017 exhibition program sponsor ProMedica, Key Bank, an Ohio Arts Council sustainability grant and Toledo Museum of Art members.

OPENING : Thursday February 9, 2017 6:00 pm

mpefm USA art press release