Roberts Projects celebrated the VIP opening of Kehinde Wiley: Colorful Realm, inaugurating their new gallery location at 442 South La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles. Drawing inspiration from Japanese nature paintings of the Edo period (c.1600–1868), Wiley parallels traditional techniques and materials in nine monumental paintings which will be presented alongside works on paper rendered in oil, ink, and hand-embellished pigment. This exhibition marks the sixth solo presentation of Wiley’s work at Roberts Projects, where he has been represented since 2003. The opening was followed by a private dinner at Yamashiro, a mansion on Hollywood Boulevard built in 1914 as a replica of a palace located in the “Yamashiro” province mountains near Kyoto, Japan. Guests enjoyed a performance by Yoko Awaya, a renowned Koto musician who has been featured as a soloist at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra of Los Angeles.
Notable guests included Alison and Betye Saar, Anne-Claudie Coric, Bennett and Julie Roberts, Brad Ogbonna, Dana Sano, Nazy Nazhand, Joel Wachs, Kehinde Wiley, Lisa Goodman, Michael Govan, Naima J. Keith, Nicole Berry, Sandra Jackson-Dumont, Ted Sarandos, Thelma Golden and more.
