Jul 6, 2023

Why we’re fascinated: Because Brooklyn has a lot of incredible painters, but only one has been commissioned to do a presidential portrait. Wiley, who immortalized Barack Obama in 2018, grew up in Los Angeles but has since set up his studio in North Brooklyn. He’s been making waves since the very start for his striking style, which combines backgrounds of high- contrast, colorful floral patterns with contemporary people of color in poses evocative of greatest hits from the art historical canon — archetypes, at this point. His style continues evolving, as evidenced through the increasingly sensitive emotional subtleties of his latest museum show, “An Archaeology of Silence,” which just opened at the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

— Vittoria Benzine