An exhibition of images of the enduring psychedelic rock band curated by photographer Jay Blakesberg and his daughter, Ricki Blakesberg. Timed to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the band, in addition to the discharge of a serious new publication of the identical title, the present will likely be on view in Los Angeles at 5130 W. Edgewood Pl. from July 15 by August 16, 2025. The espresso desk ebook will likely be obtainable for pre-order starting June 12 at store.davidkordanskygallery.com, and will likely be formally launched on August 1 in honor of Jerry Garcia’s birthday.
To mark the opening, a panel dialogue will likely be held on Tuesday, July 15 at 5 PM, that includes Jay Blakesberg; Shirley Halperin, Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Hollywood Reporter; Ron Rakow, whose images are included within the exhibition and served as a part of the Grateful Lifeless’s administration staff throughout the late Sixties and early ’70s; photographer and storyteller Rosie McGee, additionally an iconic member of the early Grateful Lifeless interior circle and household; and moderated by Stuart Krimko, employees author at David Kordansky Gallery. The dialogue will likely be adopted by a gap reception from 6 – 8 PM.
“An American Magnificence: Grateful Lifeless 1965–1995” options 28 large-scale and 32 smaller photographic prints documenting all eras of the Grateful Lifeless expertise. Chosen from the 275 images included within the ebook, these exhibition pictures have been taken by notable Grateful Lifeless photographers—Jay Blakesberg, Adrian Boot, Snooky Flowers, Greg Gaar, Andy Leonard, Rosie McGee, Ron Rakow, Jonathan David Sabin, Elizabeth Sunflower, and Kirk West—who documented the Lifeless phenomenon from its early days on the peak of the Haight-Ashbury hippie renaissance by its rise as a stadium-filling, Prime 10 cultural power.
Over the course of their thirty-year historical past—and past—the Grateful Lifeless supplied each a soundtrack and gathering level for cultural and countercultural actions. Their group, identified for its inclusivity and eccentricity, nurtured many famend rock photographers of the period, a few of whom started their journey as Deadheads—passionate followers who advanced into vital documentarians with an intuitive expertise for capturing the power of the scene round them. Whereas portraits and efficiency pictures of the band turned iconic symbols of the group’s visible id, equally vital are pictures of the Deadhead group itself.
“An American Magnificence” offers many home windows into the core of the Grateful Lifeless expertise, through which the power between the performers and the viewers was always feeding off one another. Blakesberg’s photographs of ecstatic Deadhead audiences, resonate with up to date traits in music, trend, and artwork, underscoring the Grateful Lifeless’s lasting impression on generations of artists and cultural thinkers. These pictures additionally seize a time earlier than cellphones and social media modified the expertise of dwell music. Followers are seen sharing a singular cultural communion that was taking place within the second, typically exterior the purview of business and company forces. Collectively, the pictures on this exhibition supply a sweeping view of an influential phase of American cultural manufacturing throughout pivotal a long time of political, social, and inventive transformation. They faucet into lots of the band’s main milestones, together with the Wall of Sound, Egypt, and celebratory moments akin to their annual New Yr’s Eve runs within the Bay Space. In addition they depict the humanity of this band and group, an vital issue of their evergreen attraction. From the preliminary LSD-fueled flourishing of youth, by a long time of fixed touring, and ultimately into the ultimate years of the Lifeless’s journey, the pictures discover moments of the magic that the Grateful Lifeless and the Deadheads created.
The creative and cultural worth of those images has discovered new expression by the collaborative imaginative and prescient that introduced these pictures collectively into An American Magnificence. The exhibition and ebook emerge from gallerist David Kordansky’s lifelong love of the Lifeless’s music and a shared imaginative and prescient with Jay Blakesberg that started in 2023 when the 2 met throughout a earlier iteration of the exhibition on the Haight Avenue Artwork Heart in San Francisco. The newest iteration was introduced in Las Vegas as a part of the Lifeless Eternally Expertise at Sphere throughout Lifeless & Firm’s 2024 residency, the place the exhibition drew greater than 65,000 folks. Kordansky says, “I’ve been taking a look at a few of these images of the Grateful Lifeless and Deadheads since I used to be 12 years outdated. To say that they’re formative components of my visible life—and vital components in my resolution to dedicate my life to artwork and creativity—can be an understatement. They’re additionally essential paperwork for understanding how American tradition— together with music, visible artwork, and know-how—has advanced for the reason that Sixties. It’s a dream to have the ability to collaborate with Jay and Ricki Blakesberg on this venture. Jay is among the true masters of rock pictures in addition to one in every of its most ardent and educated students.”
For Jay Blakesberg, “An American Magnificence: Grateful Lifeless 1965–1995” is not only a celebration of the band—it’s a visible journey by three a long time of cultural evolution, group, and creativity. To deliver this work into the nice artwork context of David Kordansky Gallery is deeply significant. It affirms what so many people have at all times identified: that the Grateful Lifeless’s impression reaches far past music. These images inform the story of a motion, a household, and a spirit that continues to encourage new generations.”
Co-curator Ricki Blakesberg says, “It’s extremely particular to see this wild, stunning, and distinctive thirty-year span of uncommon Grateful Lifeless pictures come to life right here throughout the hallowed halls of David Kordansky Gallery. Helping David and my dad, Jay Blakesberg, within the curation of this exhibit has been an immense honor, and demonstrates simply how highly effective the Grateful Lifeless continues to be of their means to encourage throughout generations.”
