Portrait Of Yinka Shonibare, Reynard The Fox 2017

Kehinde Wiley made this portrait of Yinka Shonibare sometime this century, probably with oil on canvas. The palette is muted, dark, and rich – a traditional choice for portraiture. But something wild is going on here. I'm struck by the way Wiley lets the paint describe form. Look at Shonibare's face – each brushstroke seems to sculpt the light and shadow, giving him a real presence. And then there are those foxes! Their fur is so tactile, you can almost feel the softness. The painting has a strange texture, like a dream you can almost grasp. Wiley's portraits always feel like a conversation with history. He takes these traditional poses and flips them on their head. You can really sense the influence of someone like Velázquez, but with a contemporary twist. And that's what art should do: take what came before and make it new.