Art is a powerful social tool. Kehinde Wiley, an American painter and sculptor, uses his work to emphasize the prejudices that permeate Western art, in hopes of influencing the way we evaluate artistic quality.

Wiley reinterprets well-known masterpieces by replacing their mostly white subjects with contemporary black counterparts. He celebrates cultural sensibilities that are often ignored or disdained by traditionalists, specifically those who treasure the works of the Renaissance and Romantic periods.

“If you look at the paintings that I love in art history, these are the paintings where great, powerful men are being celebrated on the big walls of museums throughout the world,” Wiley said in an interview with CBS News. “What feels really strange is not to be able to see a reflection of myself in that world.”

Wiley’s work has enjoyed a groundswell of popularity among both critics and collectors. Many of his paintings have sold for over a half million dollars each. His admirers consider his artwork an instrument of social change.

Indeed, Wiley’s work has some important social implications. By replacing the powerful, white subjects of European masterworks with people of color, Wiley overturns centuries of primarily white artistic excellence. He infiltrates the established artistic canon and uses it to celebrate the nuances of a historically oppressed group.

Wiley’s work affects how and why we appreciate works of art. Many of his detractors decry his lack of commitment to historical accuracy. However, Wiley’s work encourages its viewers to reimagine, not merely remember, historical events, and to celebrate the fact that, today, people of color are more likely to hold and keep positions of power.

This social relevance adds to the importance of his work. Additionally, Wiley has an extraordinary artistic talent: the aesthetic quality of his work is indisputable. It eliminates the distinction between “high” culture and “low” culture while exemplifying traditional artistic methods.

By defying artistic norms, Kehinde Wiley changes the way we think about artistic quality. Perhaps the canon needs an update.