Film: Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace

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Kehinde Wiley

It is unofficially Wiley Week in Cincinnati, with opportunities to see internationally acclaimed artist Kehinde Wiley on screen and in person. The New York painter is known for reinterpreting classical portraits by introducing African-Americans as the subjects, such as in his Memling series on view through Oct. 5 at the Taft Museum of Art. 21c Museum Hotel on Wednesday will present an encore of the film An Economy of Grace, which documents Wiley’s process of “streetcasting” ordinary people as models while he focuses on black women for the first time. While Wiley steps out of his comfort zone, so do the women of Harlem as they don Givenchy gowns. A week later, on Sept. 17, the artist visits town to discuss the Taft exhibit, in which black males in T-shirts and hoodies adopt the poses of the white men in cloaks painted by 15th century master Hans Memling.