Power couple Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) are well celebrated for their impact in music, but lesser-known to fans is their interest in the world of art. A new book by Phaidon will chronicle their 20 years of collecting, including interviews with prominent artists discussing their at-home curation. The release coincides with an upcoming exhibition spotlighting Keys and Dean’s collection, going on view at the Brooklyn Museum from February 10 to July 7, 2024.
Entitled GIANTS: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, the 250-page book features 100 works by 40 multigenerational Black American, African, and African diasporic artist, including Jamel Shabazz and Kehinde Wiley. As patrons, Dean and Keys have forged a fruitful bond with each of the artists they collect — whether spotlighting the way in which Hassan Hajjaj sparks dialogues between North Africa and the West or how Amy Sherald showcases Baltimore’s biking culture — central to the Dean’s philosophy is to promote work that is “by the artist, for the artist, with the people.”
“Our strategy is collecting from the heart,” noted Dean in an interview with curator Kimberli Gant. “You know, a lot of people call us Black collectors. We’re art collectors, and we happen to be Black. We collect artists from all over the world. The reason why we double down on artists of color is because our own community wasn’t collecting these giants.”
Signed copies of GIANTS are available for preorder at Phaidon’s website for $69.95 USD. The book will begin shipping in June 2024.
