EXPOBLVD

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, United States

Rumors of War, Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley’s 27-foot tall sculpture, Rumors of War, was permanently installed in 2019 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), at its entrance on historic Arthur Ashe Boulevard in Richmond, Virginia. Mounted proudly on its large stone pedestal, Rumors of War is the artist’s direct response to the ubiquitous Confederate sculptures that populate the United States, particularly in the American South. Wiley’s sculpture depicts a young, African American figure dressed in urban streetwear and sitting astride a massive horse in a striking pose based on the equestrian monument to Confederate States Army general James Ewell Brown “J.E.B.” Stuart on Richmond’s Monument Avenue.