A NEW REPUBLIC EXHIBITION

A New Republic, Brooklyn Museum, New York City, USA

Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic explores race, gender, and representation through portraits of contemporary African American men and women rendered in the tradition of European portraiture.

Spanning fourteen years of Wiley’s practice, the exhibition features 60 paintings and sculptures. His signature portraits replace Old Master subjects with contemporary Black figures, often dressed in streetwear and set against ornate decorative backgrounds.

Through “street casting,” Wiley invites individuals to select and reenact poses from historical paintings, giving his subjects greater agency in their representation. The exhibition also includes works from his World Stage series, extending this approach to communities around the world.