A new Paris exhibition of American artist Kehinde Wiley’s work reveals vibrant portraits of 11 African leaders.
Kehinde Wiley: courtier or court jester? Sincere artist or shrewd businessman? Visitors can make up their own minds at the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques-Chirac in Paris, where the African-American artist, born in Los Angeles to a Yoruba father, is exhibiting 11 monumental portraits of African heads of state.The seed of this project, long kept secret, germinated in the artist’s mind when Barack Obama embarked on his journey to the White House in 2008.
In contrast to Obama’s portrait, which catapulted Wiley to global fame, this series is not the result of an official commission; the artist retained full control over his work. After the posing sessions, the leaders had no further say, and according to official communication, they only discovered their portraits on 26 September, just like all the visitors to the Musée du Quai Branly.
© Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, as seen by artist Kehinde Wiley – a portrait exhibited at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. © Tanguy Beurdeley/Courtesy Musée du Quai Branly
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