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Check Out Artist Kehinde Wiley’s Work For Yourself At Columbus Museum Of Art

If you’ve been to the Columbus Museum of Art, the work of Kehinde Wiley probably looks familiar to you.

At the CMA, you can see “Portrait of Andries Stilte II”, a massive work by Wiley hanging in the Walter Wing.

via Columbus Museum of Art

The celebrated artist has been painting with his iconic and colorful style for years, shining his own, unique light on black culture and identity. But it is his most recent work, a portrait of President Obama, that is making waves.

Over all, reactions to the artist and painting were positive.

Of course, instead of talking about the art in a constructive way, some decided to take a look through Wiley’s backlog and cry “outrage” at some of his previous works, specifically a series called “An Economy of Grace”.

Within the series, which was Wiley’s first inclusion of women into his work, one particular portrait has people lashing out. The painting is Wiley’s twist on the Judith and Holofernes. It shows model, Triesha Lowe holding the severed head of a white woman, who just happens to be Wiley’s assistant.

Kehinde is well known for his frequent references to historical art in his work, not just in the instance mentioned above. Here’s an example of his interpretation of Napoleon.

Art is versatile. What I mean by that is that art can be many things to many different people. For example, where I see a strong and interesting portrait of a woman, others see a secretive plot to destroy America.

via GIPHY

If you’d like to see more work by Kehinde Wiley, you can visit his website here.