GIANTS: Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz Share Their Expansive Art Collection with San Diego

San Diego’s own Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, aka Mrs. & Mr. Dean, are lovingly and publicly sharing their massive and thought-provoking art collection, Giants, with the San Diego community at La Jolla’s Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.

Carve out your La Jolla afternoon with brunch and a leisurely museum tour

Get ready for explosive pops of color, a walk through history and a pervasive throughline of social commentary. It’s a an exhibit that’s fascinating for both adults and kids. My family and I enjoyed brunch in La Jolla beforehand (the museum also has an outstanding restaurant, The Kitchen) and then spent much of the afternoon touring the elaborate works the couple has amassed through the past decade featuring emerging and contemporary artists.

My curiosity was piqued, with the continual presentation of bold colors, competing textures and abstract pairings. The music icons’ collection offers multiple stimulating visual pieces, some reflecting a difficult past, others celebrating a vibrant culture, while all are rooted in the Black cultural experience. The exhibit is expansive and invites visitors to stroll through cascading halls and a myriad of adjoining collection rooms.

Exhibit entry portraits, Swizz Beatz & Alicia Keys

“Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe: Les trois femmes noires,” 2010 by Mickalene Thomas
with poser, Maria Felicia Kelley

“Floater 74” 2018 by Derrick Adams
with poser, Constantine

More than 130 pieces and more than 130 words to describe them

The marvelously eclectic exhibit—featuring abstract and traditional paintings, sculptures, photographs, textured art, up-cycled musical equipment and other curated artifacts—is enjoying its third month of residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.

See Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) and Alicia Keys’ more than 130 pieces while they’re still on exhibit in La Jolla at the museum through August 9. And don’t miss the 25-minute, big-screen interview of the Deans, nestled in a dimmed viewing room with cozy overstuffed chairs.

The Dean Collection was a gastronomic feast for my eyes. As I digested the colors, concepts and variety of displayed pieces, a commensurate number of descriptive words floated through my mind.

The Dean Collection is…

abstract • accessible • activated • American • ample • artistic • awesome • balanced • beautiful • black • bold • captivating • collective • colorful • compelling • communicative • connective • constructive • contextual • creative • critical • crowd-pleasing • cultural • curious • daring • dramatic • dynamic • eccentric • engaging • energetic • energizing • evolutionary • environmental • extraordinary • extravagant • factual • fantastic • fashionable • fierce • fiery • flashy • forward-facing • galvanizing • gaudy • geometric • happy • harmonious • Hispanic • historical & historic • honest • hopeful • humble • imaginative • impactful • impressionistic • impressive • jarring • joyful • jubilant • justified • kaleidoscopic • keen • key • kick-ass • kinetic • king-sized • knowing • kooky • kosher • large • lavish • legit • likable • lively • loud • loving • luminous • magical • magnificent • majestic • major • mammoth • marvelous • melodic • memorable • messy • metallic • mixed • modern • monstrous • monumental • multicolored • multicultural • multifaceted • musical • mystical • naked • national • natural • native • noisy • nostalgic • notable • noteworthy • one-of-a-kind • optimistic • opulent • original • outlandish • passionate • photographic • positive • powerful • prideful • purposeful • quizzical • quintessential • quirky • racial • radical • raw • representative • satirical • spiritual • sociopolitical • symbolic • thoughtful • timely • tough • transformative • treasured • truthful • unique • upbeat • uplifting • unforgettable • valiant • valuable • varied • vibrant • victorious •visionary • voluminous • welcoming • wondrous • worthy • zany • zestful • zen