SELF-ADDRESSED, ORGANIZED BY KEHINDE WILEY, JEFFREY DEITCH, LOS ANGELES
ONE OF ME II, Var.1/3, 2AP |2017, Screenprint on bedsheet, acrylic, Kente cloth application, hand stitched
GROUP EXHIBITION
Organized by Kehinde Wiley
in collaboration with JeffrEy Deitch
and Black Rock Senegal
Opening November 6, 2021
Jeffrey Deitch Gallery
November 7 - December 23, 2021
Los Angeles, USA
Jeffrey Deitch and Black Rock Senegal are thrilled to announce Self-Addressed, an exhibition of self-portraits by contemporary African artists curated by Kehinde Wiley.
For this landmark exhibition, Wiley has invited a selection of contemporary African artists living throughout the world to each produce a self-portrait. Together these portraits will present a new exploration of identity, perception, and self-regard within the global stage through the lens of figuration, exploring notions of perspective, authorship and control within acts of expression that directly address the self. This collection of self-portraits will offer an examination of the myth of the monolithic ‘Africa’ and an exploration of contemporary artists’ visual definitions of what it means to be ‘African’ or ‘of Africa.’
Jeffrey Deitch’s full sales commission will be donated to Black Rock Senegal.
As part of its ongoing partnership with Jeffrey Deitch, global platform GOAT is supporting Self-Addressed to expand the discourse around the exhibition and programs of Black Rock Senegal.
ABOUT BLACK ROCK SENEGAL
Black Rock Senegal (Est. 2019) is a multidisciplinary artist-in-residence program founded by Kehinde Wiley in Dakar, Senegal. The program brings together international artists to live and work at Wiley’s coastal compound for 1-3-month residencies. Designed by Senegalese architect Abib Djenne, the complex includes a residence and studio space for Wiley along with 3 single-occupancy residency apartments with adjacent studio spaces. Black Rock Senegal’s mission is to support new artistic creation through collaborative exchange and to incite change in the global discourse about Africa.
ABOUT KEHINDE WILEY
Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977, Los Angeles) is a world-renowned visual artist, best known for his vibrant portrayals of contemporary African-American and African-Diasporic individuals that subvert the hierarchies and conventions of European and American portraiture. Working in the mediums of painting, sculpture, and video, Wiley’s portraits challenge and reorient art-historical narratives, awakening complex sociopolitical issues that many would prefer remain muted.
In 2018, Wiley became the first African-American artist to paint an official U.S. Presidential portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Former U.S. President Barack Obama selected Wiley for this honor. Wiley is the recipient of the U.S. Department of State’s Medal of Arts, Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Medal, and France’s distinction of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. He holds a BFA from San Francisco Art Institute, an MFA from Yale University, and honorary doctorates from the Rhode Island School of Design and San Francisco Art Institute. He has held solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally, and his works are included in the collections of over 50 public institutions around the world. Wiley is the Founder and President of Black Rock Senegal. He lives and works in Beijing, Dakar, and New York.
ABOUT GOAT
GOAT is the global platform for the greatest products from the past, present and future. Since its founding in 2015, GOAT has become the leading and most trusted sneaker marketplace in the world, and has expanded to offer apparel and accessories from select emerging, contemporary and iconic brands. Through its unique positioning between the primary and resale markets, the company offers styles across various time periods on its digital platforms and in its retail locations, while delivering products to over 30 million members across 170 countries.