Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz bring an art collection to the Brooklyn Museum

Call it an embarrassment of riches: Musician Alicia Keys and her husband Kasim Dean, a producer and DJ known as Swizz Beatz, have purchased such massive works of art that only a few people can fit inside their homes in California, New York and New Jersey. Some large-scale paintings by artists like Kehinde Wiley, Derek Adams, and Titus Kabar eventually arrived at the door and became staples of the couple's daily routine—backgrounds for movie nights and family parties.

“We've never seen so much art in one room,” Keys said in a recent interview. That will change on February 10 when massive artworks from her collection appear in a major exhibition in the Brooklyn Museum's Great Hall.

named “Giants: Art from the Collection of Dean Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys“, the show, thanks to its location, endorses the couple as leading collectors of black artists, though there's no denying the obvious appeal of their star power. Keys is a Grammy Award-winning singer with a musical titled “Hell's Kitchen” headed to Broadway this spring, which he has produced Dean has had successes with artists such as Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and DMX.

“There's a lot of brand recognition with the deans,” said Kimberly Gantt, curator of modern and contemporary art who helped curate an exhibition of more than 100 artworks and participated in the museum's recent Spike Lee exhibition. “People love Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, but they don't know them as collectors.”

Dean began collecting as a teenager in the 1990s, when he purchased a picture of Ansel Adams with the proceeds from his first recordings with DMX. But the size and scale of its acquisitions of market favorites has increased since then. Five years ago, he estimated there were about 400 pieces in his collection; Now, he says, that number is in the thousands. Recent purchases include a 2018 painting by Derek Adams, “floating 74” Which will be displayed in the exhibition. The 25-foot-tall image of black figures relaxing in a pool is used to hang in the couple's living room, creating a blue skyline punctuated by inflatable flamingos and other pool toys above the dining area and sectional sofa.

“The reason we became more interested in African-American art is because people weren't collecting it,” Dean said, explaining that it was difficult to break into the market at first. The art world is built on relationships, and few major auction houses or galleries cater to black clients.

“Things are flowing a little better now,” Dean added, noting the increasing diversity of artists whose work is being featured at auctions and galleries. “I definitely see changes being made, but we as collectors have to take responsibility to shape the market.”

His collections increased when he joined the Brooklyn Museum's board of directors in 2019 after being appointed by museum director Anne Pasternak.

“I watched them develop a collection with real passion,” Pasternak recalled in an interview. “I would go to art galleries with them and see them in art galleries.”

The couple said they were preparing to donate several works from their collection to the museum, but they declined to specify which or how many works would become gifts, saying a final list was being drawn up. Pasternak said her personal favorites included a diptych Amy Sherald, Paintings by Meleko Mokgosi And photographs by Gordon Parks.

Planning for the Brooklyn Museum exhibition has begun in 2022; Dean resigned late last year from the museum's board of directors to avoid the appearance of any conflict. “It was the right thing to do because we wanted to stay focused on the show,” he said.

Nonprofit museums often rely on wealthy trustees to lend money and influence to their institutions, but conflict-of-interest rules typically prevent board members from benefiting financially from that relationship.

“It seems like the Brooklyn Museum is trying to avoid the appearance of conflict,” he said. Sally M. Yerkovich, Chair of the ICOM Ethics Committee, who is currently leading reviews of the ICOM Code of Ethics. “As a trustee, the primary focus should be to benefit the museum, not the trustee personally.” Displaying board members' collections on museum walls is generally unacceptable, Yerkovich said, explaining that artworks displayed in museums often acquire a higher financial value on the secondary market.

The couple did not finance the display and do not intend to sell anything on display, Dean said.

Over the past two decades, some critics have accused the Brooklyn Museum of mounting ill-informed, populist exhibitions, starting with a 2002 “Star Wars” spectacle, which New York Times critic Michael Kimmelman called “a quick, temporary way to destroy the museum.” It made headlines, boosted attendance and fundraising numbers.

More recently, the museum has produced or borrowed well-received shows on musician David Bowie, “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” and “African Fashion” along with entertaining memoirs such as Spike Lee's “Creative Sources”. She made a strong case for allowing comedian Hannah Gadsby to help organize what became a controversial Picasso exhibition. In 2024, the museum is preparing to announce “Eyes of the Storm,” an exhibition of Paul McCartney’s photographs from the Beatles era. It is currently housed at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia.

Pasternak championed the museum's programming. “I realize that some people mock our efforts,” Pasternak said. “Doing things by the book has never been our thing. As long as we do it with real precision and care, I think it's important to continue experimenting.

“People care a lot about these celebrity names, but I see them as people who add to the culture in an important way,” the director explained. “For people who are not interested, we have five floors of extraordinary galleries and our permanent collection.”

If visitors come to satisfy their curiosity about the kind of art brought together by two of the world's most famous musicians, pay the special $25 exhibition fee and stay because of the strengths of Dean's collection, Pasternak said, the show will be a success.

“As artists, Alicia and Swizz focus on demonstrating the synergy between musicians and visual artists trying to make a difference in the world through creative expressions,” said Gant, the exhibition's curator.

Even frequent museumgoers will be surprised by the collection, Gant said, pointing to rare landscapes — 14 of them — by artist Barclay L. Hendricks, and a frame sculpture by video maker Arthur Jaffa. Other works — including a shimmering installation by Ebony J. Patterson and four sexually charged scenes by Nina Chanel Abney — burst with color.

“I think people will be very impressed by what they see,” Keys said, adding that her motto when collecting art has always been: “By the artists, for the artists, with the people.”