A charitable art exhibit of painted Dean guitars will open on Sept. 9 at Mesa Arts Center Museum in Mesa, Arizona. The Six-String Masterpieces exhibit features more than 40 guitars painted by celebrities, rock stars, tattooists and contemporary artists.
The exhibit is part of the "Guitars and Handlebars: Season Kick-Off Festival" and is curated by Curse Mackey. It was introduced in 2006 as a tribute to Dimebag Darrell Abbott. Mesa Contemporary Arts has partnered with Mackey and Dean Guitars to revive the exhibition, unveiling newly painted guitars alongside selected works from the original show.
Artists who are on board to paint guitars for this exhibit include Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Gibbons, Dave Mustaine, Bret Michaels, Kerry King, Les Claypool of Primus, art superstars Alex Grey, Mark Ryden and Ryan McGinness, Scott Ian of Anthrax, Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, Mark Dean Veca, Erik Foss, Jon Davis and Munky of KORN, Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, video director Dean Karr, pop surrealist Chris Mars, Shawn Barber, legendary tattoo artists Aaron Cain and Filip Leu and many more.
Six-String Masterpieces debuted at the 2006 NAMM Convention in Anaheim, California, and toured throughout the U.S. in 2006 and 2007. The exhibit was a popular feature of the 2006 Ozzfest and Family Values Tours with several thousands concert goers per day lining up to see the guitars. it was featured on MTV's Headbangers Ball and was the subject of a special issue of Guitar Player Magazine dedicated entirely to this groundbreaking exhibit.
The original collection of 60 painted guitars was auctioned off as part of an all-star concert event at House of Blues Hollywood in May of 2007. The auction generated nearly $200,000 in support of Little Kids Rock, one of America's highest rated music education organizations.
The opening on Sept. 9th at Mesa Arts Center Museum will be the first time that the guitar painted by Ozzy Osbourne has ever been shown in the United States. It has previously only been seen at the Museo De La Ciudad De Mexico, one of the finest museums in Mexico City.
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
