Touré Show

An art world superstar who’s full of brilliance and ego, and who’s willing to strip and be a nude model for his fellow artists, Kehinde Wiley is a portraitist who has become one of the dominant painters of his generation on an artistic level and on a business level. He’s got studios around the globe and many assistants and a vision for his work that is recognized and respected across the world. He’s been featured on the walls in Empire. He’s painted Michael Jackson and Kanye. He’s currently painting the official portrait of President Barack Obama for the National Portrait Gallery. In this intense conversation, he explores the development of his style of art and explains how he became a star and the challenges of setting up shop in a far-flung country—once in the Congo he and his team got thrown in jail for five days! Kehinde is a genius. Flat out. And he’s an extrovert. And it’s always fun to encounter that combination. There’s a lot here for people who want to be artists, people who love art, or people who h