Artist Gary Grimshaw at the Scarab Club, June 26th
Wednesday, June 26th at 5:30 pm, at the Scarab Club, 217 Farnsworth in Detroit (across from the DIA), join us as we honor the artwork of Gary Grimshaw . A presentation by Cary Loren will begin at 5:45 pm on Grimshaw’s place in Detroit rock history and his significance as a Detroit artist. A reception will follow and Grimshaw will be on hand to sign his book Detroit Rocks, and a special reissue of his famous Seagull poster produced for this event.
“If he hadn’t been the poster artist for the counterculture, he could have been its poster child.” –The Detroit Free Press
Gary Grimshaw was a founding artist in the psychedelic arts movement, the first and main artist associated with the Grande Ballroom rock scene in Detroit, creating many of their psychedelic posters and live lightshows. Grimshaw was a founder and art director for the Warren-Forest Sun, the art designer for the MC5, a founding member of Trans-Love Energies and the White Panther Party, where he served as their Minister of Art and Propaganda. In the late 1960s, he art directed for the San Francisco Oracle and the radical Berkley Tribe. In the 1970’s, he designed the art and program for the Free John Now concert, later working on the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festivals, and for years did art direction at Creem Magazine. Grimshaw was a Vietnam War Veteren, a fugitive from the Marijuana wars and an anti-war peace activist.
Samples of Grimshaw’s work will be on display and limited edition, signed posters will be available for purchase. All poster proceeds will fund upcoming children’s programming at The Scarab Club. Detroit Rocks is co-authored by Gary Grimshaw with Leni Sinclair, and documents the psychedelic rock era in Detroit history and features a sample of his enormous output during the first fifteen years of his career. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet this esteemed artist and see first hand some of his noted artworks.
The Detroit Mercantile Company is issuing a special limited edition of Grimshaw’s classic Seagull, the MC5 poster that announced the opening of the Grande Ballroom. More information at Gary Grimshaw poster artist