KEHINDE WILEY
Louis XVI, The Sun King.

Cast marble, dust and resin, 2006. 240x220x130 mm; 9 1/2x8 1/2x5 inches. Signed, dated, and numbered 107/250 in black ink on the underside. Published by Cerealart Multiples, Philadelphia.

According to the publisher's note, "Louis XVI, The Sun King is a Bernini influenced, Baroque style composition positioning a young man dressed in contemporary urban street attire styled as a 17th century monarch. The heroic pose is vigorously alive and imperious. The cloak, or hoodie in this case, is swept up, as if by a gust of wind, and the figure turns with resolute composure in the direction of the wind, as if calmly facing a challenge.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, based in New York, Wiley (born 1977) often inserts black protagonists into reappropriated Old Master paintings and sculpture. The Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, which hosted a major exhibition of Wiley's work in 2007 noted, "Wiley has gained recent acclaim for his heroic portraits which address the image and status of young African-American men in contemporary culture."

 

Estimate: $ 12,000 - $ 18,000