The couple’s monumental collection spotlights Black creatives from across the globe.
The Brooklyn Museum ’s young exhibition is a celebration of Blackness and an ode to living animation monumentally . Directly sourced from the personal collection of New York native , famed creative person , and marital twosome Alicia Keys and Kasseem Dean ( aka Swizz Beatz),Giants : Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keysis an special showcase of art by Black American , African , and African diasporic creative person .
With the help of 98 while of art by more than 40 creatives , the composition of giants is stand for in multiple ways throughout the exhibition — the works on display are monumental in size and are the creations of big - name talents . Along with their animalism , they inspire large and deep conversation from visitors on matter like Black social justice and the history of Black prowess .
“ For several of the work , they are the heavy ever created by the artist , ” says conservator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Brooklyn Museum , Kimberli Gant . “ [ This exhibit ] was an chance for the artists themselves to just go beyond what they even thought possible . There ’s that quote , ‘ The sky is not the limit , it ’s just a view . ’ For the Deans , it ’s a mantra of life . ”
“Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys” exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum|Photo by Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for Thrillist
As creative person themselves — name a 15 - time Grammy Award - succeeder and Dean a celebrated producer , DJ , and rapper — the Deans conceive art takes on a multitude of meanings and shapes . Throughout the gallery , in increase to sculptures , painting , and photographs , there ’s also BMX bikes and a forte-piano . “ [ The Deans ] have a impregnable belief that art is not strictly just the visual , ” explain Gant . “ There ’s incredible workmanship and artistry in the target . Both in how they ’re made and how they ’re used . ”
Gant base it unsufferable to narrow down just a fistful of her favorite pieces — but there are a few that “ kind of slow me down . ” These let in , “ three sitting vignettes . I design them to really emphasize visitors taking a moment of rest and contemplation with the body of work . They ’re Barkley Hendrix landscapes of Jamaica that are beautiful and intimate . And according to Barkley Hendrix ’s widow , his favorite works he ever made . ” In photography , Gant is partial to the Jamel Shabazz go . “ They show such powerful ideas of local and interior animation that is both celebratory and joyous , but also personal . It ’s easy to await at his photograph and see yourself or someone you know meditate in them , ” she say .
Other notable inclusions — that hopefully slow you down — include awe - pep up shots by lensman Gordon Parks , famous canvases by portrait painter Kehinde Wiley , a large - scale painting by artist Meleko Mokgosi ( his enceinte yet ) , and geometrical works by South - African painter Esther Mahlangu .
“Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys” exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum|Photo by Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for Thrillist
A stroll through the exposition makes it clear that the Deans and the Brooklyn Museum partake in a love of art and a desire to champion Black artists . Gant hopes the show exhort visitors to think about the world power of art across mediums , " artwork is n’t just on the wall within the museum , but all around us . ”
