Kehinde Wiley: Flourish
Flourish is an exhibition of new portraits by Kehinde Wiley, marking his first major solo exhibition in The Netherlands. This new body of work responds to the collection and interiors at Museum Van Loom, addressing links between Western portraiture, Dutch global colonial presence and contemporary art as social and cultural practice.
“While studying the collection of Museum Van Loon, I asked myself: who were we then, and who do we want to be now? This new work is at the intersection of those questions. I envisioned how I could translate the historical portraits into an artistic journey where you meet young people in the twenty-first century. In Suriname, I saw a country where so many different spaces, cultures and times come together. In the age-old language of portraiture, ‘Flourish' captures what value, beauty and grace can be in today’s world. By honouring individuals who historically may not have been seen on these museum walls, my work says, ‘You are welcome here. You matter.’” – Kehinde Wiley.
