Tired Mercury 2018

Kehinde Wiley made this painting called 'Tired Mercury' with what looks like oil paint on a pretty big canvas. Imagine him in the studio thinking, "How can I bring together classical art with modern life?" I love how he uses that ornate floral wallpaper as a backdrop – it's like he's saying, "Let's take these fancy old patterns and put them behind someone real, someone from today." There's something about the way the flowers wrap around the figure that suggests the figure is rising up from the earth, or becoming part of the pattern. And Wiley’s work often plays with historical references and cultural identity. It's like he's having a conversation with all the artists who came before him, re-imagining who gets to be in the picture.