Nigerian-American Artist Kehinde Wiley Joins The Big League As He Makes TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People

Nigerian-American artist, Kehinde Wiley who is known for creating naturalistic paintings of everyday black men and women in the style of the old master has been named as one of the most influential people in the world according to TIME Magazine.

After making history earlier this year for his official presidential portrait of Barack Obama as the first black artist to ever get the job, Wiley has now been named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

Here is his profile described by rapper LL Cool J:

“Kehinde Wiley is a classically, formally trained artist who is transforming the way African Americans are seen—going against the grain of what the world is accustomed to. Some consider him irreverent; I see an iconoclast. Some of his subjects come from hip-hop culture, but he’s not a hip-hop painter. To put it simply, he does dope sh-t.

Kehinde has an MFA from Yale, but instead of using his art to assimilate into mainstream society, he goes minorstream, creating major works that outpace that of the majority of his contemporaries. When you see a Kehinde Wiley painting, you recognize it. He has created a visual brand that remains artistically fresh. And his many paintings in the Smithsonian—including one of me and one of former President Obama—speak to his creative genius.”

Other notable names include Rihanna, Chadwick Boseman, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Cardi B, Donald Trump, Tiffany Haddish, Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman and more.

View his post below.