Famed Detroit rock poster artist Gary Grimshaw died Monday morning at Detroit Receiving Hospital after a long illness. He was 67, Susan Whitall reports in The Detroit News.
Grimshaw had just been honored Friday by the Scarab Club, which had his wife, Laura, affix his signature to one of the ceiling beams, an honor reserved for artists such as Diego Rivera, Tyree Guyton and Norman Rockwell. (Grimshaw was hospitalized, and not able to sign the beam himself). The Scarab Club is exhibiting Grimshaw’s work until Feb. 15.
Grimshaw’s vivid fliers and posters for the legendary Grande Ballroom in the late 1960s featured artists such as the MC5, Cream, the Yardbirds and Paul Butterfield. His style went beyond psychedelic, and is instantly recognizable to rock poster fans, and highly collectible.
“He gave a visual punch to the music scene, he used colors — he was the artist of a generation,” his friend Becky Tyner told Whitall. “But it wasn’t just limited to the ’60s or ’70s, he’d been doing things recently, too.”
Grimshaw was born in Detroit, and grew up in Lincoln Park.
Current exhibit:
Solo show of Grimshaw's work is at the Scarab Club, 217 Farnsworth St., noon-5 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays until Feb. 15.
Related coverage at Deadline Detroit:
- Gary Grimshaw: Detroit Poster Artist Is Ailing, But Enjoying The Showings Of His Work, Sept. 7, 2013
- Like, Wow: Orion Fest Includes Gary Grimshaw, Detroit's Iconic Concert Poster Artist, June 6, 2013
