Kehinde Wiley: Bound

This 27-year-old Harlem painter has hundreds of collectors on a waiting list for his work–artists don’t get any hotter than he is right now. At first glance, the six paintings by Wiley on view here are a crack-up. Handsome young black men in urban street wear assume classic poses of religious figures and events like St. Michael, the Annunciation, even the Marriage of the Virgin; they are rendered against (or really, within) electrically ornate, often Renaissance- or Baroque-style backgrounds. Man, it’s tough to look tough when you’re surrounded by pretty little flowers. At second glance, you get pulled into Wiley’s deft use of oils. His bold, graphic approach blends the in-your-face appeal of poster art with the subtlety and symbolism of the Old Masters (whom he also mimics by using assistants to paint all those dazzling backgrounds). 1021 E. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-872-7494; wwwfranklinartworks.org