Kehinde Wiley’s artwork at the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic continues to cause a stir. Erin Scavino, director of Art in Embassies, described the painting as ‘aesthetically terrifying’ in a podcast interview, but US ambassador Leah Campos described it as a lesbian picnic in an earlier radio interview. Wiley responded by selling a T-shirt featuring the same phrase, stating it as a response and reclamation.

The Trump administration has been gradually replacing artwork in embassies with more patriotic themes. At the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, workers are dismantling a sculpture by Joel Shapiro, targeted for removal under the new regime.

Wiley’s painting, commissioned during the Obama administration in 2013, was seen by Campos as a depiction of a gay picnic, despite the painting featuring a diverse array of young artists. The Biden administration has not commented on the controversy surrounding the artwork.

Meanwhile, the center’s board, led by Trump and his allies, has voted to inscribe his name on the building, leading to a legal battle with the federal court system.