The Rolling Stones: the art of rock’n’roll
The group’s 50th celebrations extend to a show of paintings, portraits and prints
December 16 2012
Camilla Apcar
In the
slipstream of The Rolling Stones’ five 50th anniversary concerts, where
rockers Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood were reunited
with former bass guitarist Bill Wyman for the first time since 1990, Symbolic
London gallery has curated a private collection of 104 artworks depicting the
sprightly sexagenarians and their British Invasion career.
Starting from £2,750, the exhibition includes creations by Ronnie Wood that have been off the market for more than 20 years, as well as portraits by Sebastian Krüger (from £5,000) and Andy Warhol (£40,000). While Russell Young may have barely resisted the temptation to paint it black in his Mick Jagger Red Lips portrait (first picture, £16,500), a limited edition print designed by Jeff Koons (second picture, £5,100) from the Stones’ Forty Licks world tour, signed by both the artist and the four remaining band members, compensates with volumes of colour in a vibrant metre-long photographic montage.
Among the new works commissioned specifically for the exhibition is Tongue by Géronimo-Jumping Bull, a personal friend of the group who has created 50 unique pieces to celebrate The Rolling Stones’ golden jubilee. The Native American artist has reimagined the band’s iconic motif by mounting 3,000 Coca-Cola cans on a fully functional radiator (£50,000).
The only artwork not part of the general exhibition (viewable solely by appointment for those making an offer) is Bob Dylan’s original manuscript for his 1965 hit Like a Rolling Stone, valued at around £10m. It’s only rock’n’roll, but there are those who really, really like it.


