Love in Contrast by Corey Wesley. Two profiles back to back, a white face dripping white paint and a black face with red paint over the eye.

Burning Desire by Corey Wesley. A face with a black bob, split black and red, white paint dripping from closed eyes, red lips.

Face Art by Corey Wesley, Harlem NYC

The Cost of Being Seen.

Every face tells a story before we even say a word. These faces are archetypes. What they carry is yours.

View Available Artwork

Press Coverage

…asking viewers to consider what it means to be seen—and at what cost. HWM

The moment I hung it up, something shifted. I felt seen. I felt heard. Heather Elitou

As a child I grew up in the 'city that never sleeps;' a city where dreams are made and there's nothing you can't do. Corey Wesley, 2013

Gold Doesn't Heal by Corey Wesley, detail. A man's face with cracked red patches across the cheek and mouth, gold paint dripping from one eye.

The Idea

What is the cost of being seen?

Detail, Gold Doesn't Heal

Corey Wesley, the artist behind Milton Wes Art, laughing at a table in an Art Lives Here T-shirt.

Being seen asks us to be vulnerable. Yet racial, cultural, and sexual barriers can make it difficult to let someone see who we are. We spend so much time judging our differences that we miss what we share.

The faces in Unapologetic Faces are archetypes, not portraits. They come from my writing, my experiences, and the feelings those connections left with me. This is my love letter to the human experience. I want us to take the time to see one another.

I'm a Black artist in Harlem, New York, and I make contemporary face art. Most of my works are on archival aluminum, float mounted so they sit off the wall. Others are framed. Each one is limited to one collector, and once it's acquired, it leaves the series.

Meet the artist

The Series

Unapologetic Faces

View Available Artwork

What Credit Costs by Corey Wesley. A face split between gold and cracked red, with the word CREDIT dripping in gold across the forehead and glossy black lips.

What Credit Costs

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Credit Where Credit Is Due by Corey Wesley. A face split down the middle, one side pale with a blue eye and blonde braids, the other dark with black braids and a red eye shadow.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Love Your Face II by Corey Wesley. A face covered in painted lettering and blocks of blue, red, yellow and orange, with LOVE YOUR FACE written across it.

Love Your Face II

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

The Whisper Becomes the Push by Corey Wesley. A close-up of a dark face with eyes closed, gold leaf on the eyelids and the lips.

The Whisper Becomes the Push

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

Golden Temptation II by Corey Wesley. A pale face with red lips, gold and black paint running down from the eye across the cheek.

Golden Temptation II

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

Poured Clean by Corey Wesley. A dark face with eyes closed, white paint running from the eyes like tears and from red lips.

Poured Clean

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Love and Lies by Corey Wesley. Two men's faces pressed together, one dark and one pale with white hair, split by a cracked red seam.

Love and Lies

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Seconds by Corey Wesley. A face split in two, a pale half with eyes closed and a cracked dark half with gold eye shadow and red lips.

Seconds

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Two-Faced

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Harmony by Corey Wesley. Two faces leaning close with eyes closed, one dark and one pale, both covered in fine cracks, in black and white.

Harmony

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Blended Love by Corey Wesley. Two faces merging with eyes closed, one cracked like dry earth, in black and white.

Blended Love

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Complex by Corey Wesley. A face joined down the center by a puzzle-piece seam, a cracked bearded half and a half with red lips.

Complex

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Complexity by Corey Wesley. A face with puzzle pieces breaking away from the left side and red lips on the right.

Complexity

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Contrast Faces by Corey Wesley. Two women's faces joined by a jagged crack, one with platinum hair and red eye shadow, against red.

Contrast Faces

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Duality Broken by Corey Wesley. A face torn in two with eyes closed, a dark half and a pale half with silver hair and red lips.

Duality Broken

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Golden Love by Corey Wesley. Two faces about to kiss, covered in cracked gold leaf, against a red background.

Golden Love

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Irreversible Split by Corey Wesley. Two shaved heads face to face, one masked in white paint with red lips, the other in glossy black.

Irreversible Split

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

Split in Silence by Corey Wesley. Two profiles back to back, one pale and one painted glossy red with white stripes, white paint dripping.

Split in Silence

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Gilded Vulnerability by Corey Wesley. A face split dark and pale, gold running from closed eyes, red lips, black paint dripping from above.

Gilded Vulnerability

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

American Paradox by Corey Wesley. A face painted with the American flag, the paint peeling and cracked down the center.

American Paradox

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

Golden Temptation by Corey Wesley. A pale face with black hair and red lips, thick gold and black paint dripping over one side.

Golden Temptation

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

Red Silence, Black Truth by Corey Wesley. A face half striped black and white with black lips, half covered in dripping red paint.

Red Silence, Black Truth

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

Fragmented Promises by Corey Wesley. Two faces joined in the middle, one painted with peeling stars, the other with red and white stripes.

Fragmented Promises

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

Clowned by Capitalism by Corey Wesley. A face split pale and dark, gold on the brow and eyelids, gold and silver tears, red lips.

Clowned by Capitalism

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

Shedding by Corey Wesley. A face split down the middle, layers of black, white and red paint peeling from one side, red lips.

Shedding

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

The Meltdown by Corey Wesley. A mask-like face, half white and half black, black paint melting down the chin, red lips.

The Meltdown

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Unshaken Reflection by Corey Wesley. Two faces nose to nose with eyes closed, one black and one white, white paint dripping from the chins.

Unshaken Reflection

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

United Lovers by Corey Wesley. Two faces merged with eyes closed, one pale and one dark, both cracked like old plaster.

United Lovers

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Cracked Fusion by Corey Wesley. A face split by a jagged black crack, a dark half and a cracked pale half, eyes closed, red lips.

Cracked Fusion

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

The Breakup by Corey Wesley. Two men's faces divided by a cracked gold seam, one crying a red tear, the other a black tear.

The Breakup

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Tears Flowing by Corey Wesley. A face split by a red seam, a dark half and a pale half, eyes closed, tears streaking down both sides.

Tears Flowing

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Why America by Corey Wesley. Two faces with the American flag painted across their mouths, the words WHY and AMERICA on the flags.

Why America

Framed fine art · 24 × 18 in

$1,600

Love Your Face by Corey Wesley. A face streaked with red and black paint down the forehead and cheeks, LOVE YOUR FACE across the mouth.

Love Your Face

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Burning Desire by Corey Wesley. A face with a black bob, split black and red, white paint dripping from closed eyes, red lips.

Burning Desire

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

2:00 AM by Corey Wesley. A face split dark and pale against black, eyes closed, black paint running down from the top, red lips.

2:00 AM

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Presence Undiminished by Corey Wesley. Two dark profiles nose to nose, a white stripe of paint running down each face, red lips.

Presence Undiminished

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Two Truths, One Body by Corey Wesley. Two profiles back to back, a dark one with white drips and a pale one with long lashes and red lips.

Two Truths, One Body

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Love in Contrast by Corey Wesley. Two profiles back to back, a white face dripping white paint and a black face with red paint over the eye.

Love in Contrast

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

The Allure by Corey Wesley. Two pale, cracked faces with lips almost touching, blue eye shadow and red lips.

The Allure

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

Unapologetic Embrace by Corey Wesley. Two faces held close with eyes closed, one dark and one covered in cracked white plaster.

Unapologetic Embrace

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

Twin Beauty by Corey Wesley. Two faces cheek to cheek, one pale and one dark, the cracked surface breaking into red.

Twin Beauty

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

Speechless America by Corey Wesley. Two faces almost touching, the American flag painted over their mouths with SPEECHLESS across each.

Speechless America

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

The Face That Trauma Built by Corey Wesley. Two profiles joined as one, a pale side with red lips and a dark side with gold eye shadow.

The Face That Trauma Built

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Beautiful Accident by Corey Wesley. A face with cropped hair split down the middle, a cracked gray half and a red half with a gold eyelid.

Beautiful Accident

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

American Divide by Corey Wesley. Two profiles facing each other, both painted with the American flag, the paint peeling away.

American Divide

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Fractured Identity

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

Model Divide by Corey Wesley. Two women's profiles back to back, split by a jagged red line, against a red background.

Model Divide

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

The Villain They Made by Corey Wesley. A face split down the middle, a pale half streaked with black drips and a half with dark eye paint and red lips.

The Villain They Made

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

Gold Doesn't Heal by Corey Wesley. A man's face with cracked red patches across the cheek and mouth, gold paint dripping from one eye.

Gold Doesn't Heal

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Shiny and Vanished by Corey Wesley. A woman's face split in two, black paint splashing across one side with red eye shadow and red lips.

Shiny and Vanished

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

The Masquerade by Corey Wesley. A man turned to the side, his face covered in white speckled paint with a red streak down from the eye.

The Masquerade

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Split Perception by Corey Wesley. Two figures back to back, one glossy black and one glossy red, white stripes on their faces, against red.

Split Perception

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Liberated Tears by Corey Wesley. A dark face with eyes closed, thick white paint running from the eyes, red lips.

Liberated Tears

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Duality Pain by Corey Wesley. Two profiles back to back, one pale with blonde hair and one dark, both with white paint dripping, red lips.

Duality Pain

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Break Up to Make Up by Corey Wesley. Two faces in a kiss, the image cracked like broken glass with red shards.

Break Up to Make Up

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

No Comment by Corey Wesley. Two faces close together, their mouths covered by flag-striped tape that reads No Comment.

No Comment

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

Black Love by Corey Wesley. Two faces cheek to cheek with eyes closed, on a cracked white plaster surface.

Black Love

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

Passionate Lovers by Corey Wesley. Two faces about to kiss, one with red lips and pale feathered hair, the other bearded.

Passionate Lovers

Framed fine art · 24 × 18 in

$1,600

Broadway Duality by Corey Wesley. A face split by a crack, a dark half with a black tear and a pale half with a white tear, red lips.

Broadway Duality

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

Black Beauty by Corey Wesley. Two faces with red eye shadow and red lips, glossy black cracked paint spreading over one side.

Black Beauty

Framed fine art · 24 × 18 in

$1,600

Love Hurts by Corey Wesley. Two faces about to kiss, red paint running from their eyes across a cracked surface.

Love Hurts

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

Every work ships with a signed certificate of authenticity and carries Corey Wesley's signature. Shipping is included. Aluminum works ship within the 50 U.S. states, and framed works ship to the U.S. and Canada.

“The expressions and visual treatment make the figures feel emotionally exposed, almost as if they are confronting the viewer rather than simply being observed.”

Claudette Branch, viewer

Four framed Unapologetic Faces works by Corey Wesley displayed in the living and dining room of his Harlem apartment.

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