Miami flagship art museum cancels Kehinde Wiley show after sexual-assault allegations

Miami’s flagship art museum is distancing itself from Kehinde Wiley, a famed artist known for his portrait of former President Barack Obama, after several people came forward with sexual-assault allegations.

Pérez Art Museum Miami suspended plans to exhibit “Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence,” which was set to open this summer and run until January 2025, meaning it would have been on view during Miami Art Week and Art Basel Miami Beach. A museum spokesperson confirmed the exhibition was canceled but did not comment on when or why the museum made the decision.

Since last month, Wiley, a New York-based portrait painter known for depicting Black people in the ornate style of Old Master paintings, was accused of sexual assault by three people. Wiley has denied the claims.

PAMM isn’t the only arts institution to cancel the traveling exhibition, which debuted at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco in 2023 and later showed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

The Joslyn Museum of Art in Omaha, Nebraska, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minnesota canceled or postponed upcoming iterations of the show, as reported by arts publication Artnet. The Minneapolis museum confirmed to ArtNews that it canceled the show “as a result of these unfortunate allegations.”

“It is disappointing that this social media-driven fabrication is distracting from the goal of the tour: shedding light on the inequities Black and Brown people face in our society,” Wiley told ARTnews in a written statement. “These allegations are completely false, raising more questions about their credibility and motivation than there are facts supporting their authenticity.”

Instead of the Wiley show, the spokesperson said, PAMM will exhibit works from its permanent collection curated by Director Franklin Sirmans and featuring artists Morris Louis, Richard Serra, Julie Mehretu, Richard Dupont, Jennie C. Jones and Alfredo Jaar.

Wiley’s bold and easily recognizable artwork is highlighted in several Miami institutions, including PAMM.

Until recently, a Wiley piece titled “Regard the class struggle as a main link in the chain” was on display on the museum’s first floor. That painting, along with other artworks in the same gallery, “were rotated as part of a previously planned exhibition update, following a long-term display,” the spokesperson said.

Wiley’s paintings are also featured prominently at the Rubell Museum in Allapattah, home to the illustrious and vast collection of arts patrons Mera and Don Rubell. Among the works is the massive “Sleep,” a 25-foot-long painting of a sleeping man wrapped in cloth inspired by Jean-Bernard Restout’s 1771 painting of the same name. A museum spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.

Wiley’s fame and acclaim cannot be understated. A superstar in the art world, Wiley was dubbed “one of the most influential figures in global Black culture” in a 2022 New Yorker profile. His career accelerated when the Smithsonian commissioned him to paint Obama’s official portrait, which sparked a media frenzy when it was unveiled in 2018.

In May, Ghana-based artist Joseph Awuah-Darko took to Instagram to accuse Wiley of sexually assaulting him twice on June 9, 2021, at a dinner event held in Wiley’s honor.

“It almost destroyed me,” Awuah-Darko wrote on Instagram. “I hope my words and openness about my painful experience empower others to come forward. I hope all that unravels creates a path towards not only accountability, but recompense and collective healing for other victims.”

Weeks later in June, Wiley was accused of sexual assault by two other people: prominent activist Derrick Ingram accused Wiley of raping him in 2021, and Terrell Armistead accused Wiley of raping him in 2010. Another artist, Nathaniel Lloyd Richards, also accused Wiley of groping him on a date in 2019. Several accusers said they would pursue a class-action lawsuit against Wiley in New York.

Wiley has dismissed the claims of sexual assault as “baseless and defamatory” and posted screenshots of friendly conversations with Awuah-Darko and Ingram on Instagram. Wiley said he had consensual encounters with Awuah-Darko and Ingram and said he had never met Armistead. The artist said on Instagram that the accusers were motivated by money and attention.

This story was produced with financial support from individuals and Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.