Kehinde Wiley Revisits Race and the Renaissance at Cincinnati's Taft Museum of Art

CINCINNATI CITYBEAT
By Kathy Schwartz

"After Memling’s Portrait of a Man in a Red Hat" by Kehinde Wiley

OHIO---“Sexy” and “hot” aren’t adjectives that spring to mind when thinking about the stately museum and its collection. But those words do describe the international star power of New York-based artist Kehinde Wiley. And it’s tough to imagine a place better suited for his small-yet-bold Memling series than the Taft. Wiley’s signature is to rethink the Old Masters with a modern eye. Some of these canvases, measuring about 72-by-96 inches, have loomed large at 21c Museum Hotel Cincinnati. But in 2013, Wiley shifted his style to create a collection of intimate (15-by-20 and smaller) paintings modeled after portraits by 15th century Flemish painter Hans Memling. The small exhibit compels the viewer to spend time getting to know each portrait and to seek out the young man’s name inscribed on the triptych doors. [link]

Taft Museum of Art: "Kehinde Wiley: Memling" (Ends Oct. 5, 2014); 316 Pike St., Cincinnati, OH; (513) 684-4515; taftmuseum.org.