The couple will showcase pieces from their extensive art collection for a limited time during an exhibition titled ‘GIANTS: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys’.
The exhibition will be on display at the Brooklyn Museum‘s Great Hall opening on February 10.
The forthcoming show will also feature the works of 39 other artists from the Black Diaspora.
The Brooklyn-based Mokgosi is a contemporary artist whose large-scale figurative paintings have been garnering growing accolades and attention worldwide. Mokgosi’s artwork emphasises narrative storytelling, an approach that inspires the viewer to think deeply about the politics, power structures, and the role of history in the creation of independent nations of southern Africa.
The 42-year-old is said to be among a small group of individuals giving voice to the generation that grew up in the post-1960s euphoria of independence. Mokgosi seeks to illustrate many untold experiences of southern Africa, drawing imagery from South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. Alicia Keys has described the exhibition as a “must see show”.
“There is great brand recognition with the Deans,” Kimberli Gant, a curator of modern and contemporary art who was recently involved in Spike Lee’s showcase, explained to The New York Times. “People love Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, but they don’t know them as collectors.”
International media outlets have quoted Swizz Beats saying he estimates that there are thousands of pieces in their current collection. He reportedly began collecting art as a teenager in the ’90s. The rapper noted that it was hard to break into the market initially, and shared: “The reason why we doubled down on African American art is because people weren’t collecting it. Things flow a little better now. I definitely see changes being made, but we as collectors must take responsibility to shape the market.” Of the exhibit, Alicia Keys has been quoted saying: “We have never seen all these artworks in one room.”
