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, abstract face art 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. Art about money.

What Credit Costs

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Credit Where Credit Is Due, abstract face art 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. Cultural appropriation art.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

Love Your Face II

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

The Whisper Becomes the Push

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

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

Golden Temptation II

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

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

Poured Clean

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

Love and Lies

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Seconds, abstract face art 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. Duality art.

Seconds

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Two-Faced

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

Harmony

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Blended Love, abstract face art by Corey Wesley. Two faces merging with eyes closed, one cracked like dry earth, in black and white. Two men. Art about love, LGBTQ art.

Blended Love

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

Complex

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Complexity, abstract face art by Corey Wesley. A face with puzzle pieces breaking away from the left side and red lips on the right. A man and a woman in one face. Duality art.

Complexity

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

Contrast Faces

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Duality Broken, abstract face art 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 art.

Duality Broken

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Golden Love, abstract face art by Corey Wesley. Two faces about to kiss, covered in cracked gold leaf, against a red background. Two Black women. Black love art, LGBTQ art.

Golden Love

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

Irreversible Split

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

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

Split in Silence

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

Gilded Vulnerability

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

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

American Paradox

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

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

Golden Temptation

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

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

Red Silence, Black Truth

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

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

Fragmented Promises

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

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

Clowned by Capitalism

Aluminum artwork · 36 × 24 in

$2,000

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

Shedding

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

The Meltdown

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

Unshaken Reflection, abstract face art by Corey Wesley. Two faces nose to nose with eyes closed, one black and one white, white paint dripping from the chins. Two men. Identity art, LGBTQ art.

Unshaken Reflection

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

United Lovers, abstract face art by Corey Wesley. Two faces merged with eyes closed, one pale and one dark, both cracked like old plaster. Two Black men. Black love art, LGBTQ art.

United Lovers

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

Cracked Fusion

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

The Breakup

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

Tears Flowing

Aluminum artwork · 24 × 36 in

$2,000

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

Why America

Framed fine art · 24 × 18 in

$1,600

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

Love Your Face

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

Burning Desire

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

2:00 AM

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

Presence Undiminished

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

Two Truths, One Body

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

Love in Contrast

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

The Allure

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

Unapologetic Embrace, abstract face art by Corey Wesley. Two faces held close with eyes closed, one dark and one covered in cracked white plaster. Art about love.

Unapologetic Embrace

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

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

Twin Beauty

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

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

Speechless America

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

The Face That Trauma Built, abstract face art by Corey Wesley. Two profiles joined as one, a pale side with red lips and a dark side with gold eye shadow. A Black woman. Black art, emotional art.

The Face That Trauma Built

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

Beautiful Accident

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

American Divide

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Fractured Identity

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

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

Model Divide

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

The Villain They Made, abstract face art 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. Identity art.

The Villain They Made

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

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

Gold Doesn't Heal

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

Shiny and Vanished

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

The Masquerade

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

Split Perception

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

Liberated Tears

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

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

Duality Pain

Framed fine art · 24 × 36 in

$1,800

Break Up to Make Up, abstract face art by Corey Wesley. Two faces in a kiss, the image cracked like broken glass with red shards. Art about love, heartbreak art.

Break Up to Make Up

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

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

No Comment

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

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

Black Love

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

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

Passionate Lovers

Framed fine art · 24 × 18 in

$1,600

Broadway Duality, abstract face art 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. Duality art.

Broadway Duality

Framed fine art · 18 × 24 in

$1,600

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

Black Beauty

Framed fine art · 24 × 18 in

$1,600

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

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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