The New York premiere of contemporary American painter Kehinde Wiley’s The World Stage: Israel showcases Wiley’s vibrant large-scale portraits of Israeli youths from diverse ethnic and religious affiliations, each embedded in a unique background influenced by Jewish ritual objects. Also featured will be a selection of textiles and papercuts from The Jewish Museum’s collection—chosen by the artist—that will provide a dynamic interchange between the contemporary portraits and the traditional Judaica that inspired their decorative bac... Read more

The New York premiere of contemporary American painter Kehinde Wiley’s The World Stage: Israel showcases Wiley’s vibrant large-scale portraits of Israeli youths from diverse ethnic and religious affiliations, each embedded in a unique background influenced by Jewish ritual objects. Also featured will be a selection of textiles and papercuts from The Jewish Museum’s collection—chosen by the artist—that will provide a dynamic interchange between the contemporary portraits and the traditional Judaica that inspired their decorative backgrounds.

A major new Jewish Museum acquisition is the impetus for the upcoming exhibition: the Museum recently acquired Wiley’s painting, Alios Itzhak (2011), is a nine-foot tall portrait of a young Jewish Ethiopian-Israeli man surrounded by an intricate, decorative background that was inspired by a traditional Jewish papercut in The Jewish Museum’s collection.

One of the most significant young artists working today, Kehinde Wiley is originally from Los Angeles and currently lives and works in Beijing, Dakar and New York.