Former METALLICA Bassist JASON NEWSTED's Immersive Solo Art Show Presented In Miami

December 6, 2018

Former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted is having his first solo art show presented in Miami during Art Basel, which runs December 3 to January 4 at The Sagamore Hotel. The exceptional exhibitis a survey of 12 years of work, along with new, site-specific installations that reflect Newsted's lifelong commitment to painting inspired by his extensive career as a Grammy Award-winning musician. His visual display illustrates the dynamic parallel between music, history and human expressions.

Newsted told WPTV: "Always knowing that someone is going to be there looking at it like you're doing something for a purpose as opposed to just doing it for the day because you enjoy the stroke or you enjoy the color or you enjoy the freedom, the meditation, whatever. This is for a purpose. This is for a reason. It's going to have a price tag. People are coming to see it, it changes your psyche, I think for myself it makes me want to try that much harder, you know. Maybe even more judgmental and critical than I would be normally."

Jason performed live with his ensemble, THE CHOPHOUSE BAND, at the event's private opening on December 5 and will play again at the Sagamore Brunch on Saturday, December 8.

Newsted began painting in 2005, after a series of shoulder injuries and subsequent surgeries left him unable to play his instrument. The work began as a hobby, and it wasn't until a year later that he considered showcasing the results.

"I started out figuring out what techniques would allow me to draw and paint while my arm was in a sling, so I threw things at the canvas using a spatula, with one hand," he told SF Weekly in a 2010 interview. "It was purposeful. I wanted each piece to mean something, and I wanted to paint a picture each day, as a reflection of what I was living and breathing at that time. The mentality was the same as my approach to writing music."

Newsted had an exhibition in San Francisco in 2010 and some of his paintings now go for tens of thousands of dollars. "Most of my work is abstract, mixed-media," he said in a 2013 interview. "Giant pictures about five by ten feet; plastic and acrylic. I also do some sculpture. I have eight or nine hundred pieces since 2004 and have studios in three different cities across the country. Some of my pieces go for maybe $150 for a little picture and some are $40,000 for a giant one. So there's something for everyone." Newsted says he's very influenced by Basquiat, Jean Dubuffet and Picasso. "Those guys are my BLACK SABBATH, MOTÖRHEAD and RUSH of painting," he said.

Find more on Metallica
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).