Photographer Yagazie Emezi has created beautiful imagery for a new issue of Architectural Digest from presidential portrait artist Kehinde Wiley’s Lagos abode.
Kehinde Wiley is an American contemporary artist best known for his paintings that reinterpret classical European portraits with people of African descent as the subjects. He was born in Los Angeles, California in 1977 and has had numerous solo exhibitions, including at the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Wiley’s works explore themes of race, identity, and representation and have been widely recognized and celebrated for their bold and striking images.
Kehinde Wiley painted the official portrait of former U.S. President Barack Obama, which was unveiled at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. in February 2018. The portrait of President Obama depicts him sitting in a brown chair, against a backdrop of greenery and flowers. The choice of Kehinde Wiley to paint President Obama’s portrait marked a departure from tradition, as Wiley is the first African American artist to paint an official Presidential portrait for the National Portrait Gallery. The portrait was widely praised for its powerful imagery and has become one of the most iconic images of President Obama’s legacy.
View more images on Architectural Digest.
Words: Lola Ogunaike
Photography: Yagazie Emezi