by Ullens Center for Contemporary Art Location: UCCA White Cube & Black Box
Artist(s): Kehinde WILEY
Date: 14 Mar - 11 Apr 2010
Kehinde Wiley is a leading young American painter, famous for his portraits weaving urban culture, hip-hop, and contemporary design with the classical paintings of the late Renaissance period. UCCA will present his work to China for the first time this March. With a studio in both New York and Beijing, Wiley's portraits place black and brown urban young men from around the world in poses from famous art historical works of their respective cultures. This past year, Wiley worked together with Sportlifestyle brand PUMA to gather inspiration from Africa and help celebrate the upcoming World Cup to be held in South Africa. Wiley painted a series of four paintings creating a team united despite political borders: he painted three portraits of Africa's most decorated football stars, and a fourth entitled Unity of the three players posed together.