Ivelaw Study 2010

Kehinde Wiley made this painting, Ivelaw Study, with a high level of finish and detail. He's got a real handle on oil paint; you can tell he’s put in the hours. I’m interested in the way the figure pushes up against the flatness of the decorative ground, and how Wiley handles this tension between surface and depth. Look how the folds in the green hoodie are described with thin glazes and subtle tonal shifts. The paint seems almost to glow from within. The black decorative filigree flattens out, but the figure is rendered with a deep sense of three-dimensionality. It’s an interesting mix of approaches, almost like two different paintings occupying the same space. It reminds me of someone like Chris Ofili, who also mixes flat pattern with areas of high finish. But ultimately, painting is a conversation, a way of talking to other artists across time through the language of looking and making.