A Dead Soldier 2007

Kehinde Wiley made *A Dead Soldier* sometime after he was born in 1977 using oils, probably with some nice hog bristle brushes. Look at the way the figure reclines—so languid, almost floating in the air! It's as if Wiley is pulling from art history, twisting those old classical poses into something completely modern. I wonder what he was thinking as he built up those layers of color, shifting from the sharpness of the skull to the softness of the fabric of the jacket. I can almost feel the weight of the paint, thick in some places, thin in others, creating a surface that's both smooth and rough. The way that he captures the texture of the denim, that’s no accident. Wiley's a master of remixing, taking what’s come before and making it entirely his own. It’s the way the conversation between artists never really ends. They just keep painting over each other, adding new layers of meaning with every brushstroke!