1. February Art Masterpiece Kyrene de la Mirada
Artist: Kehinde Wiley
February Art Masterpiece
Kyrene de la Mirada

2. Born in 1977, Los Angeles, CA
Started weekend art classes at 11
Has a twin brother!
Graduated from San Francisco Art Institute and Yale University
Pieces in museums and art houses all over the world, including the Phoenix Art Museum!

3. Unexpected Portraits
Riffing: technique of taking a cultural element and changing it so that it fits another culture while remaining recognizable.
Example: Wiley often uses a famous portrait’s style, background, or subject position, on an unexpected subject.
Purpose: Wiley wants us to think about what makes the subject unexpected.
Equestrian Portrait of King Phillip II (Michael Jackson), Kehinde Wiley, 2010

4. Compare these two portraits

5. Empowering People of Color
Wiley’s artistic motivation is to empower people of color through representation. He recalls going into museums and rarely seeing anyone who looked like him, his friends, or his family. He wanted to change that, not only for other people of color, but for all people.
His method of casting models reflects his artistic motivation: he stops people on the streets of big cities, like New York City, asks them to select a classic famous portrait and then he paints them in the same pose and style as the painting they’ve selected!
The Two Sisters, Kehinde Wiley, 2012

6. “Marechal Foriano Peixoto”: Inspired by a sculpture of a famous Brazilian leader

7. 3 minute film of Kehinde Wiley discussing his work, suitable for everyone: