He museo de Brooklyn In his next exhibition, he 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 the artists. Alicia Keys and her husband Swizz Beatz.
‘Giants’ is the title of the set of 98 works that are part of the donation from the Dean family (the real surname of hip-hop producer and DJ Swizz Beatz, Kasseem Dean) and which can be seen starting this Saturday, February 10 and until 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. We must always expand the stories we tell and the names we make known.”the curator of the exhibition explained to EFE, Kimberli Gant.
The title of the exhibition refers to various aspects that characterize the exhibition, such as the extensive compilation of pieces by emblematic artists or the inclusion of immense murals, and is related to the Deans’ strong 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 now aim to bring together the community of the Brooklyn district 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 made by the Jamaican Ebony G. Patterson and delves into the role of collectors and the beginning of the prolific musical careers of the Deans, winners of several Grammy Awards.
Exploration of African American art
The viewer continues their journey through African American art with ‘On the shoulders of giants’a series of rooms in which the South African’s abstract painting stands out Esther Mahlangu -which represents through striking colors the tradition of the South African ‘ndebele’ ethnic group of painting their houses- and a work by the renowned Jean-Michel Basquiatin which he pays tribute to the African-American writer Langston Hughes.
But the most striking work is an immense mural by the portraitist Kehinde Wileyin which he reinterprets a marble sculpture originally made by the Frenchman Auguste Clesinger: In his work, Wiley paints a black man lying among flowers in a casual attitude, making use of techniques and styles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), which claims in several collages the beauty of young African-American women and criticizes the European beauty standard.
In this section, the public will also be able to see a painting of Qualeasha Woodoriginally from New Jersey, in which she expresses the femininity of ‘queer’ African American women through the representation of several black virgins in which she combines Catholic iconography with the technology of today’s society, as one of the figures holds a cell phone in hand.
According to the museum, part of the exhibition – whose tickets cost $27 – will enter the institution’s permanent collection. EFE (I)
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