Portrait Of Dyouany Beretie Verly 2014

Kehinde Wiley constructed 'Portrait Of Dyouany Beretie Verly' without a specified date, with what looks like oil paint – there's a process where the real collides with the artificial. The mark-making has a smooth, almost airbrushed quality that's so different from the gestural strokes I usually work with, but there's something mesmerizing about the contrast it creates. Wiley's embrace of flatness, set against Dyouany's rounded arm, makes her seem so powerful! The yellow tendrils crawling up her chest, which mirror the ground of the floral wallpaper, bring a botanical touch and give the painting a sense of growth and vitality. Thinking of Wiley, I can’t help but reflect on his dialogues with historical portraiture. Like how David Hockney plays with perspective and color, Wiley is always in conversation with art history, remixing the past to create something fresh and challenging. Art's like that, an ongoing game of telephone across time.