Self-Addressed at Jeffrey Deitch

At Jeffrey Deitch, Kehinde Wiley is involved in another exhibition, Self-Addressed, which the artist curated. The show similarly focuses on portraiture, and Wiley has invited 44 African artists to participate, with full proceeds from the exhibition going to Wiley’s artist residency, Black Rock Senegal, in Dakar. The portraits included blend a range of mediums including photography, collage, and painting, and several take on the pandemic’s isolation, such as Lockdown Self-Portrait by Barthélémy Toguo, or the Introspective Pause by Chukwudubem Busayo Ukaigwe. 

In the latter, a colorful, pattern-filled room swirls around a reclined subject, belying his pensive and concerned expression. Photographic works, such as Lifikile iVangeli, an arresting grayscale portrait by Mbali Dhlamini, or Harold Offeh’s Crystal Mouth Triptych, featuring close-up photographs of a man’s mouth holding various crystals, are refreshing inclusions amidst the drawn and painted portraits. Together, the exhibition celebrates multiplicity and self-discovery while offering a wide experimental range of mediums and styles.

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Photo: Chukwudubem Busayo Ukaigwe, Introspective pause (detail) (2021). Oil on canvas, 60 x 72 inches. Image courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles.