Ship Of Fools 2017

Kehinde Wiley made this painting, Ship of Fools, with oil paint, and looking at this piece I get a sense he’s playing with some Old Master vibes. There’s this wild energy in the sky and the sea. I am drawn to the tree growing right out of the boat, it’s this explosion of green against all these stormy purples and browns. Wiley lays down the paint in such a way that you can see the push and pull, the way he’s wrestling with the image, I mean, look at the way the waves are rendered! And right there in the middle, that kid in the blue shirt, he's staring out, and you just know he's thinking, "How did I get here?" It makes me think about Géricault's Raft of the Medusa, you know? That famous shipwreck painting. Both artists are dealing with big themes, survival, maybe even a bit of chaos. Wiley’s playing with these historical references, but making it completely his own. It’s this conversation across time, isn't it? Each artist riffing off the last, trying to make sense of it all.