Nigerian-American artist, Kehinde Wiley is the artist behind, Alios Itzhak, an oil canvas at The Jewish Museum. It is the fifth project from his series The World Stage.
In The World Stage, Wiley explores identity through the lens of his characters, who are people of color from various parts of the world. Kehinde is well known for creating Black art with underlying themes of the Black experience and identity. The World Stage: Israel, focuses on Alios Itzhak, an Ethiopian Jew living in Jerusalem who inspired Wiley during his pilgrimage to the city.
According to Judaism, images of God are forbidden due to the belief that man is created in the image and likeliness of Him. The portrait of Itzhak depicts him posing with a god-like confidence in front of a 19th century Ukrainian mizrah.
