Artist Kehinde Wiley puts power in a new frame with paintings of African leaders

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — American artist Kehinde Wiley unveiled a series of large-format portraits of African leaders in Morocco on Tuesday, building on his now famous 2018 portrait of former U.S. President Barack Obama sitting casually amid a wild cascade of leaves and flowers.

His exhibition, entitled “A Maze of Power,” opened at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat, Morocco’s capital, after previously showing in Paris and Dakar, Senegal.

The artwork borrows from classical easel painting techniques, posing African leaders in a style mainly associated with European royalty and aristocracy.

“What I wanted to do was to draw ideas in, to be able to look at the depiction of power, both beautifully and problematically,” Wiley said.

In one portrait, Ethiopia’s former president, Sahle-Work Zewde, stands before a window, her nation’s bustling capital stretching behind her as her hand clasps a dangling flower.

In another, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, former president of Madagascar, is depicted sitting confidently astride a horse. And Alassane Ouattara, president of Ivory Coast, is seen clenching his brow as he grips a sword in his right hand.

“I was thinking about the presidency at large as a symbol, as a seat of power,” Wiley told The Associated Press at the opening of his exhibition.

“A Maze of Power” arrived in Morocco seven months after first showing at Paris’ Musée du Quai Branly — Jacques Chirac. It's part of the Moroccan museum's efforts to become a hub for African art ahead of the next year's opening of the Museum of the African Continent, across the street in Rabat.

Wiley said that after his Obama portrait, he was able to leverage his connections to gain audiences with leaders from across Africa and persuade them to sit for him.

In addition to Obama’s, the portraits also echo Wiley’s earlier works, in which young Black men appear in poses most associated with paintings of kings and generals.

Showing his would-be subjects a book full of classical paintings to draw inspiration from, Wiley said he prepares for painting by taking hundreds of photographs of each leader and then placing them in settings both real and abstract.

Although he wanted to show political power, the leaders' individual political choices were not relevant to the series, Wiley said.

The leaders depicted include some marred by corruption scandals and others who ignored presidential term limits and repressed protestors. There are also two whose militaries are fighting each other in eastern Congo: Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi.

Though Wiley said the role of some art can be to shed light on those affected by political decision-making, his goals were different.

“This project is more about pulling way back and having a sort of bird’s-eye view at the phenomena of the political portrait itself,” he said.

A member of the media films a portrait of Alpha Condé, former president of Guinea, during the opening of American painter Kehinde Wiley's exhibition A Maze of Power in Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in Rabat, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Visitors look at a portrait of Oluṣẹgun Ọbasanjọ, former President of Nigeria, during the opening of American painter Kehinde Wiley's exhibition A Maze of Power in Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in Rabat, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A visitor looks at a portrait of Nana Akufo-Addo, former president of Ghana, during the opening of American painter Kehinde Wiley's exhibition A Maze of Power in Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in Rabat, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A visitor looks at a portrait of Oluṣẹgun Ọbasanjọ, former President of Nigeria, during the opening of American painter Kehinde Wiley's exhibition A Maze of Power in Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in Rabat, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A visitors looks at a portrait of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame during the opening of American painter Kehinde Wiley's exhibition Maze of Power in Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in Rabat, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A view of of American painter Kehinde Wiley's exhibition A Maze of Power in Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in Rabat, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

American painter Kehinde Wiley stands in front of a portrait of Sahle-Work Zewde, former president of Ethiopia during the opening of his exhibition A Maze of Power in Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in Rabat, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A visitor looks at a portrait of Hery Rajaonarimampianina, former president of Madagascar, during the opening of American painter Kehinde Wiley's exhibition A Maze of Power in Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in Rabat, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Visitors stand in front of a portrait of Faure Gnassingbé, President of Togo, during the opening of American painter Kehinde Wiley's exhibition A Maze of Power in Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in Rabat, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

American painter Kehinde Wiley stands in front of a portrait of Alpha Condé, former president of Guinea, during the opening of his exhibition A Maze of Power in Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in Rabat, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner finally made his Stanley Cup playoff debut Monday night after 15 seasons and a league-record 1,078 regular season games.

Skinner ended the longest wait for a postseason debut in NHL history by contributing an assist in the Oilers' wild 6-5 loss to the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of their first-round series.

Skinner, who turns 33 years old next month, has been an NHL regular since he was 18. He has racked up six 30-goal seasons and 699 total points while scoring 373 goals in a standout career.

But Skinner spent his first eight seasons with Carolina, which missed nine consecutive postseasons during the 2010s, and the next six with the woebegone Buffalo Sabres, whose current 14-season playoff drought is the league's longest.

Skinner signed with Edmonton as a free agent last summer, but struggled to nail down a consistent role in the Oilers' lineup in the first half of the season. His game improved markedly in the second half, and he scored 16 goals this season while entering the playoffs as Edmonton's third-line left wing.

Skinner's teammates have been thrilled to end his drought this month. Connor McDavid presented Skinner with the championship belt that serves as their player of the game award after the Oilers clinched their sixth straight playoff berth two weeks ago.

Skinner's line got less playing time than the Oilers' top two groups while Edmonton mounted a four-goal comeback against the Kings, but it was also responsible for the Oilers' second goal. Skinner got the secondary assist when Mattias Janmark scored early in the third period to trim Los Angeles' lead to 4-2.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Edmonton Oilers center Mattias Janmark, right, celebrates his goal with center Jeff Skinner during the third period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Edmonton Oilers center Jeff Skinner, left, moves the puck while under pressure from Los Angeles Kings left wing Warren Foegele during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Monday, April 21, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)