In its next exhibition, the Brooklyn Museum vindicates the presence of African-American artists in museums and opens a “great” conversation about racial discrimination through a collection of almost one hundred works temporarily donated by artists Alicia Keys and her husband, Swizz Beatz .
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‘Giants’ is the set of 98 works that are part of the donation from the Dean family (the real surname of the hiphop producer and DJ Swizz Beatz, Kasseem Dean) and that can be seen from this February 10 until the July 7 inside the New York museum.
“We want to remind the public that there are many artists, and that the art world can be very biased in terms of which stories and which artists receive attention, recognition and inclusion in museums,” explained the exhibition’s curator, Kimberli Gant.
The title of the exhibition refers to various aspects of the exhibition, such as the extensive compilation of pieces by emblematic artists or the inclusion of murals, and is related to the Deans’ belief that “all artists are giants.”
The couple – originally from New York – began collecting works of art 25 years ago, and through their openness to the public, they both aim to bring together the community of the Brooklyn borough in a place focused on the arts and creativity, just as They explain in a recording that the viewer can hear in the exhibition itself.
The first part of the exhibition, ‘Becoming Giants’, opens with the recreation of a children’s room created by the Jamaican Ebony G.Patterson and delves into the aspect of collectors and the beginning of prolific musical careers of the Deans, winners of several Grammy awards.
(You can read: ‘I like the stories that hide in the shadows’: Maggie O’Farrell).
‘Battle for Area X’ by artist Jerome Lagarrigue, from the art collection of singer Alicia Keys,
Angel Colmenares. Efe
The viewer continues his journey through African-American art with On the Shoulder of Giants, a series of rooms in which the abstract painting of South African Esther Mahlangu stands out – which represents through striking colors the tradition of the South African Ndebele ethnic group to paint their houses – and a work by the renowned Jean-Michel Basquiat in which he pays tribute to the African-American writer Langston Hughes.
But the most striking work is an immense mural by the portrait painter Kehinde Wiley (born in Los Angeles) in which he reinterprets a marble sculpture originally made by the Frenchman Auguste Clesinger: in his work, Wiley paints a black man lying among flowers in a carefree attitude, making use of techniques and styles historically associated with the portraits of white European artists.
The exhibition ends with ‘Giant Conversations’, a compilation of works that criticize historical discrimination and stereotypes associated with the African-American population, including works by artists such as Deborah Roberts (Texas), who claims in several collages the beauty of young African American women and criticizes the European beauty standard.
ALICIA SANCHEZ GÓMEZ
EFE. NEW YORK
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2024-02-09 05:08:46
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