Kehinde Wiley Interscope Collaboration

Kehinde Wiley will participate in a special collaboration with Interscope Records in celebration of their 30th anniversary. For this project, Interscope commissioned 30 artists to reimagine the covers of iconic albums produced by the record label since its inception. Kehinde created a portrait of Dr. Dre for the re-release of a limited edition run of his album 2001. The resulting painting will be on show at Los Angeles County Museum of Art from January 30 – February 13, 2022 as part of the exhibition “Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined.”

Artists play a role in defining an era, capturing its mood and energy through beat or brushstroke. Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined brings together an intergenerational group of visual artists including Cecily Brown, Lauren Halsey, Rashid Johnson, Takashi Murakami, and Ed Ruscha into dialogue with iconic musicians from the last three decades including Dr. Dre, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Nine Inch Nails, and Lady Gaga.

To mark the 30th anniversary of Interscope Records, co-founder Jimmy Iovine, current chairman John Janick, vice chairman Steve Berman, and music executive Josh Abraham revisited the label’s history of groundbreaking music through the lens of visual art, an idea that was sparked by label partner Justin Lubliner. They invited artists to select albums and songs from Interscope’s catalogue and fostered exchanges with musicians to generate resonant pairings. The exhibition includes over 50 works, providing a fresh perspective on influential music for the present moment.

Image: Kehinde Wiley The Watcher, 2021, oil on canvas, © Kehinde Wiley