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Jay-Z & Vic Mensa Demolish D.C. For '4:44' Tour
Jay-Z & Vic Mensa Demolish D.C. For '4:44' Tour
Photo Credit: Vickey Ford for Okayplayer

Jay-Z Reportedly Lends Basquiat Painting Honoring Jazz Legend Charlie Parker To New Exhibition

Jay-Z & Vic Mensa Demolish D.C. For '4:44' Tour Photo Credit: Vickey Ford for Okayplayer

The Guggenheim, who is hosting the exhibition, disputes that the painting is Jay-Z's.

Jay-Z has reportedly lent a painting by the late Jean-Michel Basquiat to the Guggenheim for an exhibition.

READ: Jay-Z Hires Attorney To Represent Phoenix Family Held At Gunpoint By Police Over Stolen Doll

The painting, titled "CPRKR," is one of several Basquiat paintings that's a part of the Guggenheim's "Defacement": The Untold Story exhibition. "CPRKR" was painted by Basquiat in 1982 as a tribute to Charlie Parker, the late legendary jazz saxophonist regarded as a pioneer of bebop.

According to Page Six, the 4:44 rapper let the Guggenheim borrow it for the exhibition. However, the museum said that the painting isn't actually Jay-Z's, and is on loan from a private collection.

The exhibit is centered around Basquiat's work, particularly his Defacement painting. Also known as The Death of Michael StewartDefacement was about graffiti artist Michael Stewart, who died in 1983 after he was arrested for tagging a First Avenue subway station.

Six transit cops were tried for beating him to death, but were acquitted.

"With approximately twenty paintings and works on paper created in the years surrounding Stewart's death, this presentation will examine Basquiat's exploration of black identity, his protest against police brutality, and his attempts to craft a singular, aesthetic language of empowerment," the Guggenheim describes the exhibition as on its website. "Additional paintings by Basquiat will further illustrate his engagement with police misconduct, while others will demonstrate his adaptation of crowns as symbols for the canonization of historical black figures."

The exhibition is open now until November 6. Tickets can be purchased here.

Source: Page Six