Tempest Off A Mountainous Coast 2017

Kehinde Wiley painted this turbulent scene, Tempest Off A Mountainous Coast, and I am struck by the intensity of the colors, especially the blues and greens of the sea. It's like he's wrestling with the paint, pushing it around to capture the chaos. The physicality of the medium is so present. You can almost feel the weight of the oil paint, the thick strokes building up the waves. Look at the way the light catches the crest of each wave, how he uses these bright highlights to convey movement, but also the very real danger of the open sea. The texture is rough and alive, like the sea itself is about to reach out and grab you. This piece reminds me of the Romantic painters, like Turner. But Wiley brings his own contemporary sensibility to it, questioning who gets to be the hero in these grand narratives. It's a painting that invites you to get lost in its depths, to feel the storm raging both outside and within.