Sharrod Hosten Study I 2010

This portrait, Sharrod Hosten Study I, was painted by Kehinde Wiley, who was born in 1977. There's such confidence in the model's pose, staring slightly off to the left, with stars around his shoulders, and the red floral background just really sings. I really admire how Wiley merges portraiture with decorative patterns that feel classical, yet contemporary at the same time. The skin tones are so subtly rendered, shifting from pale to dark with incredible nuance, as if the model is emerging from the canvas, into reality. Look at the floral motifs in the background and lower foreground—how the artist has allowed the patterns to bleed and merge, pushing forward and receding back into the pictorial space. Wiley is not just making paintings, but crafting unique forms of representation, opening up conversations about identity, history, and power. It’s so exciting to think about painting as a space for creative investigation.