Leo Martínez
Kehinde Wiley is a Los Angeles-born, New York-based visual artist known for his naturalistic paintings of black people that reference the work of Old Master paintings. Wiley's work has been exhibited internationally, including in Cuba, Nigeria, Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, and Rome. In this paragraph, we will explore whether any of his paintings can be found in Southern California.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Locations of Kehinde Wiley's paintings in Southern California | The Huntington Library, San Marino, California; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla, California |
| Notable paintings | A Portrait of a Young Gentleman; Barack Obama's portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery |
| Exhibitions | An Archaeology of Silence at the de Young Museum; An Artful Life: A Tribute to Matthew C. Strauss Group Exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla, California; Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys Group Exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
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What You'll Learn
Kehinde Wiley's paintings exhibited in Southern California
Kehinde Wiley is an American portrait painter who paints monumental works of art that captivate audiences with bold colours and strong views on racial power. He is based in New York City but was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.
Wiley's work has been exhibited in Los Angeles, California, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In 2025, his work was also exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, La Jolla, California.
Wiley's paintings are known for their naturalistic depictions of Black people that reference classical European and American portraiture. His work often features urban Black and Brown men from around the world, including from California, where he grew up.
One of Wiley's newly commissioned paintings, 'A Portrait of a Young Gentleman', is featured in the historic Thornton Portrait Gallery at The Huntington Library in San Marino, California. This painting hangs opposite Thomas Gainsborough's iconic 'The Blue Boy'.
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Wiley's portrait of Barack Obama
Kehinde Wiley is an American portrait painter who paints monumental works of art that captivate audiences with bold colours and strong views on racial power. He is one of many contemporary artists throughout the world who hope to shift racial power throughout the media using his art. In 2017, Wiley was chosen by Barack Obama to paint an official portrait of the former president to appear in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery "America's Presidents" exhibition. Wiley's portrait of Obama was unveiled in 2018, and it currently tours the USA alongside Amy Sherald's portrait of Michelle Obama in 'The Obama Portraits Tour'.
Wiley's portrait of Obama is an oil-on-canvas painting that depicts Obama sitting in a chair, seemingly floating among foliage. The foliage includes chrysanthemums, the official flower of Chicago; jasmine, symbolic of Hawaii, where Obama spent most of his childhood; and African blue lilies, alluding to his late Kenyan father. Obama is wearing a 39mm White Gold Rolex Cellini watch, which he has chosen to wear on multiple high-profile occasions, including the inauguration of President Biden. The painting is a near life-size portrait of Obama, the 44th president of the United States of America.
Wiley's portrait of Obama is a departure from earlier presidential portraits. The vibrant colours and casual pose of the portrait are decidedly modern, placing Obama firmly in the present day. Wiley and Obama decided that this composition should be "wholly new", reflecting Obama's singular position in history. The painting does, however, have echoes of past presidential portraiture, such as the National Portrait Gallery's seated portrait of Abraham Lincoln.
Wiley is known for his naturalistic paintings of Black people that reference the work of Old Master paintings. His portraits often feature urban, Black and Brown men found throughout the world, engaging with the visual rhetoric of the heroic, powerful, majestic, and sublime. Wiley's larger-than-life figures often blur the boundaries between traditional and contemporary modes of representation and the critical portrayal of masculinity and physicality.
Wiley was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1977 and is now based in New York City. He has exhibited his work in various locations, including Los Angeles, Cuba, Nigeria, and New York City.
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'The World Stage' paintings
Kehinde Wiley is an American portrait painter who creates monumental works of art that captivate audiences with bold colours and strong views on racial power. He is known for his naturalistic paintings of Black people that reference the work of Old Master paintings.
Wiley's "The World Stage" paintings were launched in Beijing in 2006 and subsequently exhibited in several other countries, including Nigeria, Senegal, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, Israel, France, Jamaica, and Haiti. This body of work reflects Wiley's international perspective, featuring models from diverse urban landscapes worldwide, such as Mumbai, Dakar, and Rio de Janeiro.
In "The World Stage" series, Wiley continues to challenge traditional portraiture by juxtaposing the "old" and the "new." He dresses his models in contemporary clothing influenced by Western style norms and directs them to assume poses inspired by the historical paintings or sculptures representative of the culture and history of their surroundings. This juxtaposition sparks a visceral and intellectual discourse, inviting viewers to reconsider the portrayal of Black and Brown men worldwide.
Wiley's "The World Stage: Jamaica," for example, blends aspects of British history with contemporary Jamaican elements, merging disparate iconography like tattoos and William Morris wallpaper designs to create a unique narrative. This approach to portraiture has earned Wiley recognition as one of the leading painters of today.
While I cannot confirm the presence of Kehinde Wiley's paintings in Southern California, his work has been exhibited internationally, including in Los Angeles, following his commission to paint former U.S. President Barack Obama's portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
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'Legends of Unity: World Cup 2010' exhibition
Kehinde Wiley is an American portrait painter who creates monumental works of art that captivate audiences with bold colours and strong views on racial power. He is based in New York City but was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1977.
Wiley's work was exhibited in Los Angeles in 2023 as part of Frieze Los Angeles. A film exploring his life and work, featuring interviews with Wiley, his twin brother Taiwo Wiley, and his friend and fellow artist Mickalene Thomas, made its US debut at the de Young museum in conjunction with the exhibition.
Wiley's paintings can also be found in permanent collections in California. His painting 'A Portrait of a Young Gentleman' is featured in the Thornton Portrait Gallery at The Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Additionally, in 2025, Wiley's work was included in the group exhibition 'Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys' at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, which was on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla, California.
In 2010, Puma AG commissioned Wiley to paint four portraits of prominent African soccer players for the World Cup. The complete series, 'Legends of Unity: World Cup 2010', was exhibited at Deitch Projects in New York City. The exhibition showcased Wiley's unique style, combining modern portraiture with classic artistic styles from history. The series featured patterns from his paintings incorporated into Puma athletic gear.
Wiley's work often involves restaging classical portraits, replacing historical white subjects with contemporary subjects of colour. By doing so, he challenges the cultural narrative of the Western art canon and addresses the image and status of young African-American men in contemporary culture. His paintings are known for their naturalism and bold use of colour, evoking a modern style that instils a unique and contemporary manner, awakening complex issues that many would prefer to remain silent.
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'An Archaeology of Silence' exhibition
Kehinde Wiley is an American portrait painter who paints monumental works of art that captivate audiences with bold colours and strong views on racial power. He is one of many contemporary artists throughout the world who hopes to shift racial power dynamics through his art.
Wiley's larger-than-life figures disturb and interrupt the traditional tropes of portrait painting, often blurring the boundaries between traditional and contemporary modes of representation and the critical portrayal of masculinity and physicality as it pertains to the view of black and brown young men.
Wiley's debut exhibition, 'An Economy of Grace', marked his first-ever series dedicated to female subjects. In 2015, Wiley collaborated with the Brooklyn Museum of Art to organise the exhibition 'Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic', which charted the course of his 14-year career. In 2016, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia, exhibited 'Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic', displaying nearly 60 of his paintings and sculptures.
In 2023, the exhibition 'An Archaeology of Silence' made its US debut at the de Young museum in San Francisco. However, in 2024, the Minneapolis Institute of Art paused its plans to stage the travelling exhibition 'Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence' due to sexual assault allegations against Wiley. The Pérez Art Museum Miami also suspended its plans for the show, and the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, held off on opening its own Wiley exhibition, both without providing an explanation.
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Frequently asked questions
Kehinde Wiley was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1977.
Kehinde Wiley's paintings have been exhibited in many places, including New York, Cuba, Nigeria, Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, and Rome.
Yes, Kehinde Wiley's paintings have been exhibited in Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Marino, California.
Kehinde Wiley is known for his naturalistic paintings of black people that reference the work of Old Master paintings. He is also known for his monumental works of art that captivate audiences with bold colors and strong views on racial power.
Yes, Kehinde Wiley was commissioned to paint former President Barack Obama's portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in 2017.
