Roberts Projects celebrated the opening of a new Mid-Wilshire gallery on January 21, 2023. The inaugural exhibition titled “Colorful Realm,” features new work from renowned contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley. The show runs through April 8, 2023.

Drawing inspiration from Japanese nature paintings of the Edo period (c.1600–1868), Wiley parallels traditional techniques and materials in nine monumental paintings. Exposed linen highlights the depicted natural scenes while also preserving the delicate balance of the untouched picture space. Per the artist, “So much of my work is about appearance and showing up and being visible, and this dance between exploring the vastness of space within the minimality of this technique I find to be an interesting juxtaposition.”

Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977, Los Angeles) is an American artist best known for his portraits that render people of color in the traditional settings of Old Master paintings. Wiley’s work brings art history face-to-face with contemporary culture, using the visual rhetoric of the heroic, the powerful, the majestic and the sublime to celebrate Black and brown people the artist has met throughout the world. Working in the mediums of painting, sculpture, and video, Wiley’s portraits challenge and reorient art-historical narratives, awakening complex issues that many would prefer to remain muted.

On View: January 21 – April 8, 2023

What: “Colorful Realm,” Kehinde Wiley
Where: Roberts Projects, 442 S. La Brea Ave., LA, 90036
When: Saturday, January 21, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Website: https://www.robertsprojectsla.com