(CNN) Artist Kehinde Wiley, known for his paintings of African-Americans and reinterpretations of classic artworks, has been chosen by former President Barack Obama to paint his official portrait for the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.
At the end of each presidency, the museum partners with the White House to commission one official portrait of the President and first lady.
Michelle Obama selected artist Amy Sherald, who is known for her life-size paintings of African-Americans, to paint her portrait, the museum announced Friday.
Both Obamas' portraits will be unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in 2018, where they will be added to the museum's permanent collection.
Artist reimagines classic paintings with modern twist
"What I choose to do is to take people who happen to look like me -- black and brown people all over the world, increasingly -- and to allow them to occupy that field of power."
Much of his work focuses on reinterpreting classic works of art, like Jacques-Louis David's famous portrait of Napoleon crossing the Alps (next slide) atop his favorite horse, Marengo.
"The world's a scary place. The role of an artist is to look at that world as it is and to imagine alternative possibilities, but also to heighten what actually is. What can I do as an artist that hasn't already been done before? Look closer."
Here, Kehinde reinterprets a classical French painting of a couple (next slide), in this case with two men.
"My job is to walk through the streets, find someone who's minding their own business, trying to get to work, stopping them. The next thing you know, they're hanging on a great museum throughout the world."
"What can I do to start a broader conversation about presence and imminence and the desire to be seen as respected and beautiful in this world?"
"Well, what I'm doing is I'm looking at fashion as culture, fashion as serious business, where people will oftentimes dress themselves as a form of armor."
"Fashion is armor insomuch as it says something about who we are in the world. It also protects us a bit. My work tries to concentrate on fashion as a conceptual color. It's yet another color in my palette, to tell a story."
"Every day I count my blessings. There's something to be said about the courage to just throw yourself into this type of work."
"I'd never thought in a million years that I'd be here having the success that I do. But it says something great about America and about New York City that you can have a dream like this. That you can put one foot in front of the other and people will say yes to what you're up to."
Wiley's work adds a modern twist to re-imagined Western classic paintings, showing contemporary African-Americans in theatrical poses.
One of his works takes on Jacques-Louis David's famous portrait of Napoleon crossing the Alps atop his favorite horse, Marengo. Wiley's reinterpretation shows the same white horse, but ridden instead by a black man in camouflage and Timberland boots.
"What I choose to do is to take people who happen to look like me -- black and brown people all over the world, increasingly -- and to allow them to occupy that field of power," he told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in 2015.
Amy Sherald was the first-prize winner of the National Portrait Gallery's 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.
His works include portraits of LL Cool J, Michael Jackson and Notorious B.I.G.
Sherald is a Baltimore-based artist who took first place in the Portrait Gallery's 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. She won out over more than 2,500 entries, according to the museum.
The National Portrait Gallery will raise private funds for the two portraits, the unveiling event, educational programs and website, according to its press statement.