Kehinde Wiley's Economy of Grace at the Sean Kelly Gallery-One More Day

Kehinde Wiley, Kancou Diaovno (2012)



Kehinde Wiley, Dacia Carter (2012





Sojourner in front of Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (2012)
by Kehinde Wiley



 

Besides the above, what was great about being in New York was being able to visit so many dynamic places.  One of those places was the Sean Kelly Gallery. I went there with my mother and aunt. This gallery is featuring the work of Kehinde Wiley. You know how I feel about his work. 

It was exciting and odd at the same time to view this particular collection because the subjects are all women.  Wiley is synonymous for his almost exclusive portrayal of men.  True to his signature style, this body of work, entitled Economy of Grace, is over the top and spectacular.  It was kind of eerie and neat to see his work in this huge gallery with just four or five people in there.  It felt very intimate.

Wiley has said he based these paintings on historical portraits by masters like Jacques-Louis David, Thomas Gainsborough, and John Singer Sargent, and that Economy of Grace challenges society’s views of feminine beauty and the place of black women in art history.

“I am painting women in order to come to terms with the depictions of gender within the context of art history. One has to broaden the conversation,” he is quoted as saying.

Kehinde Wiley, Judith and Holofernes

To learn more visit the Sean Kelly Gallery website:

http://www.skny.com/exhibitions/2012-05-06_kehinde-wiley/