I like to play with the conventions around what we expect of paintings historically. But I also like to play with the conventions that you expect from a Kehinde Wiley painting, too.

I think that the Kehinde Wiley brand is something that I'm working towards expanding and to inclusion.

In the end I'm in love with it [Western European easel painting]. And that's where a lot of the influence from the work comes from.

There is no purity with regards to the marketplace and art, I believe.

[My parents] met in university back in the '70s. And I didn't grow up with my father. He - they separated before I was born.

While it may seem a little mundane, the material realities of realizing the painting actually have a lot to do with how you should read the painting. For example, we assume that what the model is wearing is what we found him in in the streets. No; in fact, a lot of what happens is that in Photoshop certain aspects are being heightened or diminished. There is no actual material truth in these paintings.

If I were making paintings of a bowl of fruit it would still be viewed through some sort of political lens, because the viewer wants to create a type of narrative around the political theme when they look at work depicting black and brown models.