Satisfaction for city's Ronnie Wood art fans

Published on Wednesday 7 January 2009 09:25

ROLLING Stone Ronnie Wood may be best known for his rock'n'roll lifestyle, but he is hoping to gain attention for something a little more refined with the opening of an exhibition of his artwork in Edinburgh.

The show at The Dome in George Street will include around 50 original oil paintings, etchings and prints by the rocker, including images of the Rolling Stones on tour as well as portraits of friends and animals.

Wood – reported to have spent Christmas in LA after leaving his wife of 23 years, in the wake of his affair with 20-year-old Russian Ekaterina Ivanova – is not expected to visit the exhibition in person.

However, exhibition organiser Jonathan Poole said he believed people would be attracted by the quality of the art rather than the salacious stories surrounding its 61-year-old creator.

He said: "I don't think people are interested in his domestic life, they're interested in him as an original artist. The works most certainly stand up on their own merit. He sold an original called Beggars' Banquet for 1.2 million – no-one would pay 1.2m just because he's a rock star. He's a good investment and he's a good visual artist."

The list of works to feature in the exhibition is currently being finalised by Mr Poole, who selects paintings directly from Wood's London studio. As well as images created during 30 years of life on the road, there will be other, more personal images, he said: "There are animals, there are friends. Obviously the majority are going to include the music world because that's his world, but, for example, we've got one called Tusk, featuring rhinos and elephants, which he did for the Tusk Foundation (which protects African wildlife]."

Also included in the exhibition will be portraits of celebrity friends such as Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart and Jack Nicholson. The Shining star was clearly a fan of the final product, according to Mr Poole, who said: "The person who owns the Jack Nicholson is Jack. We've got the prints."

All the works in the exhibition will be for sale, with price tags ranging from just under 1000 up to 20,000 for an original.

Before beginning his musical career, Wood studied at Ealing College of Art in London, and in 2004 his artwork was the subject of an episode of The South Bank Show.

Mr Poole, who has also arranged exhibitions of work by John Lennon and Miles Davis, also staged the last Ronnie Wood exhibition in Edinburgh four years ago. He said: "My whole philosophy is proving to the public that people can express themselves in more ways than just one, not just through their music but through their visual art.

"With their exhibitions, it's a very personal thing. They're backed up by other people on stage, but they're on their own when they do this. I have the utmost respect for him as an artist."

The exhibition, which is free, runs from January 27 to 31.