Kehinde WileyThe major exhibition of new works from the de Young Museum in San Francisco was seen by more than 300,000 visitors in its first three months. Now the show — in which the artist’s signature approach of inserting people of color into the starkly white imagery of Old Master paintings and sculptures is applied to black victims of systemic violence — is set to tour at across the United States over the next two years.
Following his visit to San Francisco (until October 15), Kehinde Wiley: an archeology of silence will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston (November 19, 2023-June 19, 2024); then at the Pérez Art Museum Miami (July 26, 2024-January 12, 2025), where its presentation will overlap Art Basel in Miami Beach; and finally at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (February 22, 2025-June 22, 2025). The exhibition was curated by Claudia Schmuckli, curator of contemporary art and programming at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), the organization that manages the de Young and Legion of Honor museums.
“This exhibit is a critical affirmation of the importance of black life, condemnation of systemic violence, and the role of art in addressing the issues visitors face on a daily basis,” Thomas P. Campbell, director and chief executive of FAMSF, said in a statement. “We are thrilled that people across the United States now have the opportunity to see this important work in person.”
In its presentation, the de Young Museum included a “respite room” where visitors can reflect on the topics addressed in Wiley’s works, from institutional racism and systemic violence to privilege and inequality. Campbell added, “It’s clear from the response of our visitors that the exhibit taps into deep emotions and resonances that will be equally relevant elsewhere in the United States.”
Wiley’s work has become a fixture in major traveling exhibitions of contemporary art. His official portrait of former US President Barack Obama visited seven museums-with Amy Sherald Companion Portrait of former first lady Michelle Obama for more than a year. And Wiley’s work figures prominently in 30 Americansan exhibition drawn from the collection of Don and Mera Rubell which has toured the United States since 2011 and featured in more than 20 museums to date.
