Art lovers mark your calendars: Deitch has a show coming up entitled Down, featuring the work of LA native New York-based painter Kehinde Wiley, that opens 11.01 and runs through 12.20.08.

"This exhibition consists of four new large-scale paintings. Initially inspired by Holbein's painting The Dead Christ In The Tomb as well as historical paintings and sculptures of fallen warriors and figures in the state of repose, Wiley has created an unsettling series of prone bodies -- some a product of the ravages of war, some contorted into erotic revelry, while others embody the majesty and severity of entombed Saints. Epic in nature, Down, is Wiley's most ambitious series to date. These figurative paintings, which extend up to 25 feet in length, have grandeur and gravity seldom seen in contemporary art." Checkout the full press release for the show here.

If you're unfamiliar with the artist, "Kehinde Wiley's works reference specific paintings by Titian and Tiepolo, but he incorporates a range of art historical and vernacular styles in his paintings, from the French Rococo to the contemporary urban street. Wiley collapses history and style into a uniquely contemporary vision. He describes his approach as interrogating the notion of the master painter, at once critical and complicit." Read more here.

With recent press in The New Yorker, NY Times, and Interview, Wiley is on the verge of being the next big thing.

Don't forget to checkout Wiley's site for info on lectures, exhibits, special projects, and much more. Again, I'd direct link you, but the site is in Flash so I can't!!

Down
Kehinde Wiley
Deitch Projects
18 Wooster Street
11.01 - 12.20.08
Opening: Saturday, 11.01.08 from 6-9pm