Kehinde Wiley exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly: A Pictorial Journey through African Power

TheKehinde Wiley Exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac Paris awaits you from September 26, 2023 to January 14, 2024. The artist unveils a series of portraits of African heads of state that Kehinde Wiley began conceptualizing in 2012, during the first black presidency in the United States.

The initiative grew out of the artist's reflection on presidential leadership. Wiley traveled Africa for ten years, meeting with leaders to discuss the history of aristocratic, royal and military portraiture, and thus co-creating works revealing leaders' unique perspectives on contemporary African governance.

The works depicted are designed to:

• Reflect the distinctive cultural elements of each state,
• Highlight the diversity of the African continent,
• Reveal an individual's identity through the prism of the artist and role model.
  

They also aim to deconstruct the contours of the ego and strategies for constructing a public image. A film accompanying the exhibition presents the artist's approach and travels.

We appreciate the depth of Wiley's investigation into the staging of power through portraiture, highlighting the complex choices faced by artists, historical role models and contemporary leaders.

Artist biography: Kehinde Wiley, born in 1977 in Los Angeles, is known for his modern reinterpretations of classical portraits, conferring power and prestige on individuals often excluded from such representations. His work crosses painting, sculpture and video, challenging and redefining historical narratives. In 2018, he became the first African-American artist to create an official portrait of the President of the United States for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. He then founds Black Rock Senegal in 2019, a multidisciplinary residential program in Dakar.

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Collaboration: Produced in collaboration with Galerie Templon, the exhibition promises immersion in a profound artistic and political conversation, offering an enriching perspective on the role and identity of contemporary African heads of state.

By revealing the complex issues of power and representation, theKehinde Wiley Exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac Paris proves to be much more than a simple artistic presentation, but an invitation to reflect on crucial political and cultural themes of our time.

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