Tarrel 2008

Kehinde Wiley made ‘Tarrel’ using oil on canvas. When I look at this, I'm imagining Wiley thinking about portraiture, and how to twist it. The red backdrop overlaid with a swirling floral pattern gives us a decorative context that frames the modern-day young Black man. The figure emerges confidently, while the decorative elements flatten the image. It’s like the painting flirts with the idea of breaking apart into pure abstraction. The skin is so smooth and luminous, almost hyper-real, contrasting with the flat decorative background. It makes me think about what it means to be seen, who gets to be seen, and how the history of painting has shaped these perceptions. Wiley’s work speaks to the grand tradition of portraiture, but he's also talking to other painters across time – Manet, Matisse, Warhol – all of whom played with flatness, pattern, and representation. These works all inspire each other across time, echoing and riffing on the same ideas.