Kancou Diaovno 2012

This portrait of Kancou Diaonno was made with oil paint by Kehinde Wiley, who was born in 1977. Wiley builds his paintings from a process of layering, combining the tradition of portraiture with decorative patterns, a real push and pull between foreground and background. The oil paint seems to have been applied in both thin glazes and opaque layers, creating a play of light and shadow across the sitter's face and shoulders. Look at the top of her left shoulder, here the floral decoration seems to sprout from the darkness of her top and onto her skin, a subtle but powerful motif of growth and resilience. Wiley’s work reminds me of Chris Ofili. Like him, Wiley is interested in the tension between different cultural traditions, mixing the visual language of classical painting with that of contemporary Black culture. It’s a bold and exciting conversation, one that refuses easy answers and embraces the messiness of identity.