The Grateful Dead Meets Tie Dye Arts

VSOP Projects, Greenport Tie Dye Arts, and Hero Beach Club have collaborated to present an exhibition of artworks by Courtenay Pollock, the long time tie dye artist for The Grateful Dead. The show will be held for one weekend only — September 11-13, at Hero Beach Club’s seaside courtyard in Montauk.

The exhibition will feature a selection of Pollock’s finest large mandalas and tapestries. Made with natural dyes on specially sourced cotton fabric, these works exemplify the artist’s mastery of technique and profound attention to intricate detail. Brand new pieces as well as large-scale historical works will be on view, all available for sale.

The exhibition also includes vintage Grateful Dead memorabilia for sale, and a make your own tie dye workshop for children and adults by Greenport Tie Dye Arts.

At the height of the late ’60’s counterculture movement, following a profound psychedelic experience, Pollock created his first tie-dyed mandala tapestries. Moving west with little more than his new tie-dyed creations, he searched for housing and was led to a home built around two giant redwood trees in Marin County. There, he befriended a 22-year-old Bob Weir (guitarist for the then-burgeoning Grateful Dead) and was promptly commissioned to create speaker covers, large scale backdrops, and clothing for the now-legendary psychedelic rock band.

For the past five decades, Pollock has been at the forefront of tie-dye art, pushing the boundaries of the medium and elevating the now ubiquitous art and craft to a highly complex visual language. A combination of intense color and kaleidoscopic geometry results in the dynamic, hallucinatory style for which Pollock has become internationally acclaimed.

Pollock’s work has been included in exhibitions at the Museum of Art and Design, The New York Historical Society, Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, and Bonhams New York. The Grateful Dead and their countless “spinoff” bands have used his legendary tie-dyed stage backdrops for more than 50 years.

His work will be on view Friday through Sunday, September 11-13, at Hero Beach Club, 626 Montauk Highway in Montauk, from 11 a.m. until late each day. Proper social distancing protocols will be followed while on the property.