Kehinde Wiley to unveil sculpture in Times Square

NEW YORK – Artist Kehinde Wiley will unveil his first monumental public sculpture in New York’s Times Square this fall in response to Confederate statues nationwide.

Times Square Arts, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and gallery owner Sean Kelly announced Thursday that the bronze “Rumours of War” sculpture features a young black male dressed in urban streetwear mounted atop a horse.

The project originated when Wiley saw Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s monument in Richmond, Virginia.

Wiley is known for his paintings of black Americans and his commissioned portrait of President Barack Obama, displayed at the National Portrait Gallery. He says the new statue’s inspiration is war and “an engagement with violence.”

“Rumours of War” will display in Times Square from Sept. 27 to December before finding a permanent home at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.