Kehinde Wiley Studio

Kehinde Wiley Studio
Name	Kehinde Wiley Studio
Founder	Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley Studio is the professional atelier and organizational hub of the American artist Kehinde Wiley. The studio organizes large-scale portrait commissions, public sculptures, exhibitions, residencies, and collaborative projects that intersect with institutions, collectors, and community organizations. It operates as a production center, research site, and administrative entity coordinating Wiley's international practice and public-facing initiatives.

History

The studio grew from Wiley's emergence after studies at Yale University School of Art, following earlier training at San Francisco Art Institute and Sierra College. Early visibility from work shown at venues such as The Studio Museum in Harlem, Studio Museum in Harlem exhibitions, and exhibitions at Brooklyn Museum helped expand operations. Significant milestones include the commission for the official portrait of Barack Obama exhibited at Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, a major career moment alongside retrospectives at institutions like Seattle Art Museum and Brooklyn Museum. The studio has interfaced with curators and directors from institutions including Tate Modern, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Louvre Museum, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston to manage exhibitions, conservation, and logistics. Funding and partnerships have involved organizations such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, and municipal arts agencies in cities like New York City, Los Angeles, and Paris.

Facilities and Locations

Primary production facilities have been located in neighborhoods of Brooklyn, with additional painting and fabrication space used in Los Angeles and temporary studios in Paris and Lagos for specific projects. The studio maintains large painting bays, workshops outfitted for gilding and frame-making, and metal fabrication shops suitable for public sculpture. It contracts with foundries in Pisa and Florence as well as fabrication partners in Shenzhen and Berlin for bronze casting and finishing. Logistics and shipping are coordinated with freight services servicing galleries in London, Tokyo, Chicago, Houston, and Toronto.

Artistic Practice and Techniques

The studio supports a practice centered on figurative oil painting, bespoke frame-carving, and large-scale bronze casting. Techniques include classical preparatory drawing methods rooted in pedagogy from ateliers associated with École des Beaux-Arts, oil layering techniques tied to the practices of painters represented at Gagosian Gallery and Lehmann Maupin-associated artists, and pattern design influenced by textile traditions from West Africa, India, and East Asia. Conservation-grade materials are specified in consultation with conservators from Getty Conservation Institute and curatorial staff from National Gallery of Art. The studio’s painting process often incorporates live model sittings, photographic sessions with equipment like high-resolution cameras used by collaborators who have worked with magazines such as Vogue and GQ. For public sculpture projects, the studio collaborates with engineers from firms similar to Arup and fabrication teams who have worked on commissions for institutions like Public Art Fund.

Major Projects and Commissions

Notable commissions organized through the studio include the official Barack Obama portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the equestrian statue commission for Senator John Lewis-type civic memorials, and public works installed via programs such as Percent for Art initiatives and partnerships with municipal arts councils in Atlanta, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.. The studio has executed portrait commissions for collectors, universities including Yale University, cultural institutions like The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and corporate clients in sectors associated with MoMA PS1 and university art museums. Large collaborations have been staged with performing arts organizations and cultural festivals including Frieze Art Fair, Venice Biennale, and Documenta-style international exhibitions.

Exhibitions and Residencies

The studio manages traveling exhibitions and coordinates institutional retrospectives at venues such as Brooklyn Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Royal Academy of Arts, and Kunsthalle Wien. Residency partners have included programs at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, and artist residency spaces in Accra and Marrakesh. Gallery partnerships span commercial galleries including Luhring Augustine, Sean Kelly Gallery, and Lehmann Maupin, as well as collaborations with museum curators from Tate Modern and The Getty Center to loan works and curate exhibition catalogues.

Collaborators and Staff

The studio employs a multidisciplinary team comprising painters, carpenters, conservators, framemakers, foundry liaisons, and administrators who coordinate relations with curators from institutions like Smithsonian Institution and collectors from global markets including Dubai and Hong Kong. Key professional collaborators have included photographers, textile designers, and engineers who have previously worked with institutions such as MoMA, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and corporate partners like Apple Inc. and Nike on image-making and merchandising. Legal, financial, and philanthropic coordination has involved advisors familiar with non-profit boards and funding bodies like the National Endowment for the Arts.

Reception and Criticism

Critical reception of the studio's output has been covered in outlets and forums including The New York Times, Artforum, Frieze, and The Guardian, with scholarship emerging from academics affiliated with Columbia University, Yale University, and Harvard University. Debate often centers on dialogues with art historical precedents linked to names such as Jacques-Louis David, Diego Velázquez, and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, and critical theory discussions referencing scholars from Princeton University and University of California, Berkeley. Commentary spans accolades from awards committees associated with institutions like MacArthur Foundation and critiques published in journals tied to Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press.

Category:Art studios