LITO and Sotheby’s Reimagine the Art Edition Through a Landmark Collaboration with Kehinde Wiley

For decades, the art edition has occupied an ambiguous space within the contemporary art market. Celebrated for its accessibility yet often viewed as secondary to unique works, the category has struggled to shake perceptions of reproduction. A new collaboration between LITO and Sotheby’s aims to change that narrative entirely. Launching a long-term Exclusive Editions program, the partnership debuts with six new works by acclaimed artist Kehinde Wiley, signaling a bold rethinking of what an edition can be in the twenty-first century.

LITO has emerged as one of the most closely watched companies operating at the intersection of art, technology, and collecting. Rather than approaching editions as reproductions of existing artworks, LITO has developed a proprietary process known as Hi-Rnd©, a technology capable of capturing and recreating the texture, relief, brushwork, and chromatic complexity of an original artwork with extraordinary precision. The company’s ambition extends beyond printmaking. LITO positions itself as a new category within the art market one where artists conceive works specifically for editioned formats and where technological innovation becomes part of the creative process itself.

This philosophy has attracted attention across the contemporary art world. In recent years, LITO has collaborated with leading artists and cultural institutions while earning recognition for its efforts to bridge the gap between exclusivity and access. The company’s latest partnership with Sotheby’s marks its most ambitious initiative to date. Together, the two organizations have created Sotheby’s Exclusive Editions, a new platform dedicated to museum-quality editioned works available directly through Sotheby’s online marketplace. The works are also being presented at Sotheby’s galleries around the world, offering audiences the opportunity to experience their dimensionality and material presence firsthand.

The opening of “The Future of Exclusive Editions” unfolded in New York. The initiative made its public debut in May 2026 with an inaugural event at Sotheby’s Breuer Building, organized in partnership with Forward Global—bringing together collectors, artists, and cultural figures to mark the launch.

Kehinde Wiley Reimagines a Landmark Work

The inaugural release centers on Kehinde Wiley, whose influence on contemporary portraiture has been profound. Best known for his monumental paintings that place contemporary Black and Brown subjects within compositions inspired by European Old Masters, Wiley has spent more than two decades rewriting the visual language of power, representation, and identity. His paintings challenge historical hierarchies while simultaneously celebrating the dignity and individuality of his sitters. From major museum exhibitions to his historic 2018 portrait of President Barack Obama for the National Portrait Gallery, Wiley has become one of the defining artists of his generation.

For this collaboration, Wiley revisits his 2008 work Triple Portrait of Charles II, itself a contemporary interpretation of Anthony van Dyck’s seventeenth-century Triple Portrait of Charles I. The composition presents its sitter from multiple viewpoints, exploring the impossibility of reducing identity to a single image. Through repetition, reflection, and layered perspectives, the work becomes a meditation on how individuals are perceived and represented.

“The marriage of art and science is one that’s been known and storied. There was, prior to the camera, an assumption that art was the ultimate authority of truth in history. Now with new technology, art is freed to take on new responsibilities, and to be able to tell other types of stories,” said Wiley. “Working with Sotheby’s, LITO, and LITO’s technology has also allowed me to go back into my archive and rethink paintings that had been done years ago and these editions are part of a grand tradition of artists playing with the leading edge of technology.”

Between Painting, Sculpture, and Technology

Rather than simply reproducing the original painting, Wiley and LITO have reimagined it as a series of six distinct editions. Produced on mirrored Aludibond panels and framed in aluminum, the works incorporate engraved floral elements and reflective surfaces available in variations including Mirror, Dark Mirror, Gold, and Blue. The resulting objects occupy a space somewhere between painting, sculpture, and technological artifact. As viewers approach the work, they encounter not only Wiley’s image but also their own reflection embedded within it, creating an active dialogue between subject and spectator.

“Now with new technology, art is freed to take on new responsibilities, and to be able to tell other types of stories,” 

Kehinde Wiley

The physicality of these editions is central to the project. LITO’s technology captures the depth and material presence of Wiley’s original painting while introducing new dimensions of reflection and light. Unlike traditional prints, which often flatten an image into a purely visual experience, these works emphasize texture, relief, and surface. The editions are hand-signed and numbered by the artist, with larger formats produced in editions of just ten and smaller versions limited to twenty examples. Such scarcity places them closer to the realm of collectible contemporary artworks than conventional editioned prints.

Expanding Access to Contemporary Collecting

Beyond the works themselves, the collaboration reflects broader shifts within the art market. As demand for major contemporary artists continues to outpace supply, collectors increasingly seek meaningful points of entry into important artistic practices. Sotheby’s and LITO are responding to this reality by creating a model that combines rarity, authenticity, and accessibility. By offering artist-conceived editions directly through a global marketplace, the partnership expands access without compromising artistic integrity.

“Beginning a collection with editions offers an exciting and accessible entry point into contemporary art,” said Cynthia Houlton, Sotheby’s Senior Vice President and Global Head of Demand Generation & Marketplace. “Through our collaboration with LITO, collectors can acquire high-quality works directly from the artist, reinforcing both authenticity and a meaningful connection to the creative process. Exclusive to Sotheby’s, these editions carry a compelling sense of rarity while remaining approachable. By presenting them on our Marketplace, we aim to welcome new audiences and invite discovery of exceptional art in a way that feels both inspiring and inclusive.”

The Future of Exclusive Editions

The significance of the initiative lies not only in its inaugural release but also in its future ambitions. Additional artist collaborations are planned throughout the year, suggesting that Exclusive Editions may evolve into an important new platform for contemporary collecting. If traditional editions were once considered secondary to original works, LITO and Sotheby’s are proposing a different vision. The edition becomes an original artistic medium in its own right.

“Beginning a collection with editions offers an exciting and accessible entry point into contemporary art,”

Cynthia Houlton

With Kehinde Wiley setting the tone, the partnership offers a compelling glimpse into the future of art collecting, where technology, craftsmanship, and artistic authorship converge to create new possibilities for both artists and audiences alike.