When Kehinde Wiley had the honor of being selected to paint a portrait of former President Barak Obama, it marked a historic moment as he became the first African American to paint an official US presidential portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. This milestone was only a foreshadowing of what was to come. “Colorful Realm,” currently at Roberts Projects, confirms that Wiley is shaping the Black Figurative art discourse  similar  to how his  predecessor, Charles White demonstrated  soul  in Mother Courage II (1974) and Homage to Langston Hughes (1971) by reflecting  human dignity and setting the stage for his artistic inheritors.

Wiley’s interpretive palette uses mocha, coffee, hershey and  caramel  hues to grace his Blacknificent  folk. Many of the portraits penetrate the viewer with a gaze echoing Edwin Starr’s Contact (1978) featuring subjects rendered gracefully as if they exist in another dimension that is both safe and brave.

For example, the oval framed Portrait of Oluseyi Olaose (2023), one of the only two Black women renditions in the exhibition, illustrates Wiley’s skill in transforming blank linen. The subject—her face adorned in braids—is a towering chocolate queen, whose hand on hip harkens to Jeff Donaldson’s Wives of Shango (1971). Tomato red berries hang off collard green vines, complementing the mustard yellow of her finger nails and tennis shoes. Sistah validation is the message.

Kehinde Wiley, Portrait of Oluranti Olaose II, 2023. Courtesy of Roberts Projects.

In the painting Portrait of Oluranti Olaose II (2023), the subject is depicted as if at any moment his Nike-clad feet can walk out of the portrait. With shadow faded haircut, gold chain and a bubble gum pink tank top accentuating his slim athletic build, this brother from another mother is sunlight on a cold, winter, moonlit night. Even the tree snaking its way around the background with branches adorned with ivory white flowers cannot compete with the subtle genius look in this brotha’s eyes

Ultimately, “Colorful Realm” confirms Wiley’s place in the canon as an impeccable figurative painter. However, the question remains regarding whether this A-Free I Can  artist will continue to create in the same style or explore other realms of creative gesture such as abstraction. Similar to how jazz legend, John Coltrane experimented with free jazz, only time will tell, especially if there is a Colorful Realm Chapter Two Remix on the horizon.