By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL – Brooklyn Art Museum is the venue for one of the year’s most magical art extravaganzas straight from the personal collection of Alicia Keys, famed musician and her music producer husband Swizz Beatz aka Kasseem Dean. The exhibition entitled “Giants” is an eclectic mix of pop culture and high art straight from the celebrity couple’s California mansion – featuring 98 artworks by 37 Black artists. The philosophy behind the delightful art show as Keys reveals in a video at the end of the exhibit: “We want people to see themselves, to feel inspired.” Every person that’s hanging on the walls is just like you and I. We want you to see that you are also a giant: special, incredible, unique.” The exhibition focuses on the work of prodigious Black artists the likes of Gordon Parks, Kehinde Wiley, Nick Cave, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Derrick Adams, Arthur Jafa, Amy Sherald, Lorna Simpson and Ernie Barnes to name a few.
The music power couple who amassed a multimillion-dollar art collection, want the public to learn about and revel in the massive beauty that Black artists create as well as to learn something about history through the art. The exhibition itself is striking with BMX bikes arranged near Key’s piano and a “We Are Here” video next to portraits of the couple created by Kehinde Wiley and Derrick Adams. The ambiance throughout the unique exhibition features leather loveseats and coffee tables for a laidback vibe. Technics 1200 turntables and original Herculoid speakers from DJ Kool Herc play hip-hop by “First Painting” from Ernie Barnes, the 19-year-old art prodigy known for his painting “The Sugar Shack” from the closing credits of “Good Times.” The collection Keys and Beatz showcase, offers something for everyone as well as a way to celebrate Black art and Black artists during Black History Month. It’s the first major public exhibition of the artwork that normally hangs in their home. The exhibition which just opened this week, runs through July 7.
Photo : Brooklyn Museum
