AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF SILENCE EXHIBITION

An Archaeology Of Silence, Giorgio Cini Foundation, Venice, Italy

Curated by Christophe Leribault, An Archaeology of Silence presents a collection of monumental paintings and sculptures, expanding on Kehinde Wiley’s body of work DOWN from 2008. Initially inspired by Holbein’s painting The Dead Christ in the Tomb (1520-22) as well as historical paintings and sculptures of fallen warriors and figures in the state of repose, Wiley created an unsettling series of prone Black bodies, re-conceptualizing classical pictorial forms to create a contemporary version of monumental portraiture, resounding with violence, pain, and death, as well as ecstasy.