The Three Graces 2012

Kehinde Wiley painted 'The Three Graces' with oil on canvas sometime this century. The painting's surface is so smooth, almost like glass; it's hard to see the brushstrokes, which makes the men depicted seem all the more present. I'm drawn to the floral arabesques that intertwine with the figures. They seem to grow organically out of the men's clothing, each detail meticulously painted, creating a dance between the figures and the background. Look at the way the light catches the fabric of their jeans, so tactile, you almost want to reach out and touch them. It's as if Wiley wants to bring the history of classical painting into conversation with contemporary life, making visible what was once unseen. Wiley reminds me a little of David Hockney, someone else who has always looked for ways to update the grand traditions of portraiture for our own time. Art is, if anything, a conversation, a way of seeing, a way of being in the world.