Connie H. Choi

This beautifully produced book was brought together on the occasion of a retrospective exhibit of Kehinde Wiley's work at the Brooklyn Museum in 2015. The plates are arranged chronologically and many are accompanied by short essays by a wide variety of art historians, art critics, artists, and even poets that contextualize and respond to Wiley's work. In addition, two longer essays start out the book by giving us an introduction to the exhibit and an overview of Wiley's work and its reception. I was mostly familiar with Wiley from his portrait of President Obama in the National Portrait Gallery, and just slightly aware of his other paintings. Spending some time with this work and reading the accompanying reflections gave me a deeper appreciation for what Wiley is doing and how exactly he is doing it. I am jealous of anyone who has gotten to see his work in person, especially all in context at one of his openings -- they sound wild! This was given to me as a gift by a friend who apparently has a sixth sense for what will hit me just right (thanks, Des… (mere)

This gorgeous book is the catalog for an exhibit of Wiley's work at the Brooklyn Museum. There are two longish contextual essays and dozens of shorter blog-like entries by numerous authors addressing specific plates or groups of plates. Some of them are more art historical, some more personal, and others are poems.

Among the artists I know, none of them like Wiley that much (maybe they're just jealous!). I realize he's not exactly avant-garde but I adore his work. I find it conceptually important and visually invigorating. My students like him, too. I think he hits the sweet spot of approachability and rigor that he is going for. This book is awesome and I really enjoyed reading through it and absorbing the outstanding production values of the huge full-color plates. It is always a treat to see a Wiley painting in person, but this is the next best thing.… (mere)