Blending contemporary subject with the traditional portrait compostion, Kehinde Wiley balances vernacular culture with his academic art training. He’s hip-hop with an ear to 18th century. A graduate of Yale’s MFA program, Wiley has been exhibited accross the world, and most prominantly in the National Portrait Gallery’s RECOGNIZE! exhibition. His first solo show, up now at Harlem’s Studio Museum (where Wiley has been artist in residence) presents 10 paintings from his "The World Stage Series." Painted while in Lagos and Dakar, the portraits present local men follow the pose of historic sculpture in the respective cities.