RUMORS OF WAR, TIMES SQUARE

Rumors of War, Times Square

As a direct response to the Confederate statues that line Monument Avenue in Richmond, Wiley conceived the idea for Rumors of War when he visited the city in 2016 for the opening of Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic at VMFA. Rumors of War takes its inspiration from the statue of Confederate Army General James Ewell Brown “J.E.B.” Stuart created by Frederick Moynihan in 1907. As with the original sculpture, the rider strikes a heroic pose while sitting upon a muscular horse. However, in Wiley’s sculpture, the figure is a young African American dressed in urban streetwear. Proudly mounted on its large stone pedestal, the bronze sculpture commemorates African American youth lost to the social and political battles being waged throughout our nation.

First unveiled on September 27, 2019, in Times Square, where the statue has remained on view for several weeks, Rumors of War will be unveiled December 10, 2019, at VMFA, its permanent home. The artist’s vision will be complete when the statue is installed there with the city of Richmond as its backdrop. While this is Wiley’s first monumental public sculpture, it is a continuation of his career-long investigation of representation, race, gender, and power.