Kehinde Wiley: The World Stage: Africa, Lagos ~ Dakar Exhibition Review By Dina Bernadel Kehinde Wileys name

isnt necessarily recognizable, but his work is memorable. The World Stage: Africa, Lagos ~ Dakar is Wileys first solo exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem. The exhibition features ten paintings, seven of epic size and three smaller ones. This series is an offshoot of a project Wiley was working on in the United States, where he pulled African-American models from the streets of places like Los Angeles and Brooklyn. Wiley then positioned the models in poses typically found in Renaissance and Baroque paintings. The modern clothing and faces of color is an interesting contrast to the vintage European postures. The tension between the subject and the context sparks a vibrant dialogue about power. After some success with this project Wiley expanded the concept to include models from Africa, specifically Lagos and Dakar. Wileys ten paintings are evenly distributed along four walls. Upon entering the large, white room the viewer is held captive by the epic sizes, bold colors, and intricate designs. The backgrounds of the paintings are based on eighteenth and nineteenth century indigenous Dutch wax-resist fabrics, produced in Africa for European export. The designs are organic, nature inspired motifs dominated by birds, leaves, vines, and flowers. The intertwined designs, painstakingly painted to perfection, break free of the background and coil across the figures. Layered mostly over the backgrounds are young African men in poses from portraits of military generals and former colonial masters. Mostly, the models mimic historical public sculptures from Dakar, Senegal and Lagos, Nigeria. According to Kehinde Wiley, the poses are meant to imitate the ways that the nations pictured themselves after independence. The paintings are filled with tension caused by the juxtaposition of the stoic, modern figures with the whimsical, vintage backgrounds. Images of people the West consider exotic tends to ignite an interest in their environments, but lack of anthropological details causes a discomfort. The viewer, presumably, thinks the artists intention is to spark a dialogue, or say something significant about race and culture. However, by separating the figures of their environmental context, the men are allowed to become aesthetic objects and not objects of an anthropological study. The separation of figure with natural environment suggests that Wiley doesnt particularly care to spark dialogue about culture and race but suggests rather an intense artistic desire to render the complex beauty of human flesh. One of the most appealing and tension filled paintings is of two boys titled, Dogon Couple. The background is a vivid blue and orange motif of birds and leaves. The couple is seated on orange chairs that have no backs and nearly fade into the orange and blue background. The boy on the left is wearing a blue top, with striped shorts and sandals. The boy to the right is dressed in a Senegalese football federation

jersey and a very American, Puma shirt and short combination. The boy on the left looks directly at the viewer and extends his left palm, as if presenting the viewer with his image. His right arm is draped over his lover who awkwardly looks towards the ceiling. This boy is oddly posed, looking up with his fingertips resting on his knees and elbows out. The tension in this painting is caused by the clash of the busy, bold background and the colorful patterns of both boys clothing. There is another hint of tension because of their awkward poses. Wileys reproduction of the European fabric designs are well done but do not out shine his rending of human skin. The young African men are naturalistically and realistically depicted with special attention paid to mimicking the affects of light on dark skin. The elegance of The World Stage: Africa, Lagos ~ Dakar is completely derived from Wileys perfection in rending Black skin.