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Butler braces for crowds at Stones’ guitarist show
By REBECCA SLOAN
YOUNGSTOWN
When you think of Ronnie Wood, you think of searing guitar riffs, spiky hair and the brassy, sassy British bravado that has made the Rolling Stones guitarist legendary.
But there’s a lot more to Wood than rock ’n’ roll attitude.
In addition to being a gifted musician, Wood also is a gifted visual artist.
Area residents will have the privilege of witnessing Wood’s lesser-known talent when the rocker’s first American museum exhibition opens Tuesday at the Butler Institute of American Art on Wick Avenue.
Titled “Ronnie Wood: Paintings, Drawings and Prints,” the exhibition features 30 paintings, 22 pen-and-pencil drawings and seven mixed-media works.
Wood will appear at the Butler on Tuesday evening to celebrate the opening, something Louis Zona, Butler executive director, said is causing quite a stir.
“It’s been magic in terms of the popularity of the show and the opening, and we anticipate a large number of people coming to see this artwork,” Zona said. “This is a major event, and it has received press coverage from around the world. We are thrilled to have Ronnie Wood coming here.”
Zona anticipates about 300 people will attend Tuesday evening’s premiere, which is not open to the public.
“[Wood] did not want a large, crushing crowd for the opening,” Zona explained. “We’ve had to control the numbers. We’ve had requests from all over Europe and the United States to attend this opening.”
Zona said the exhibition, which runs through Nov. 21, has been in the works for about four years but was not confirmed until about six months ago.
Although the Butler show represents a milestone for Wood as an artist, the rocker’s work has been widely exhibited.
In 1996, he had a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He also has had numerous solo shows in North and South America, the Far East and Europe.
“He actually thinks of himself more as a visual artist than a musician, and although it’s hard to discount his incredible contributions to music, we are approaching this as ‘Ronnie Wood the painter and print maker’ instead of ‘Ronnie Wood the rock star’,” Zona said. “Ronnie actually started drawing and painting at age 12 — before he started playing guitar — and has said he wants to be remembered more as a visual artist than as a musician.”
Wood has a special talent for portraits and often depicts musicians and celebrities with whom he associates.
Impressive studies of Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards and drummer Charlie Watts dominate the collection along with vibrant, splashy interpretations of the band’s stage performances.
Portraits of actors Nicholas Cage and Robert De Niro, and a sensitive study of Muhammad Ali also showcase Wood’s talent for portraiture.
“This is one of my favorites,” Zona said of the Ali painting. “Ronnie has a special talent for capturing a likeness.”
Zona also praised Wood’s pen-and-ink cartoons and caricatures, many of which take sly pokes at his flamboyant band mates.
One set of caricatures, for example, depicts Keith Richards as a pirate and Mick Jagger as a haughty member of royalty.
Humor aside, viewers of Wood’s artwork will quickly esteem him as a serious artist who Zona says has “amazing range.”
The crown jewel of the show is a sprawling oil-on-canvas titled “Beggars Banquet.” The work features numerous figures and animals, and Zona praised Wood’s use of baroque-like light, varied textures and clever placement of elements.
Wood, 63, was born in Middlesex, England, into a musical and artistic family and received formal art training at Ealing Art College in London. Even after his music career took off, Wood continued painting and drawing.