A new Grateful Dead photography exhibition is set to open on Tuesday, July 15th at David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles. Titled An American Beauty: Grateful Dead 1965–1995, the show is curated by renowned photographer Jay Blakesberg and his daughter Ricki Blakesberg and coincides with the upcoming release of a companion photo book of the same name.
Alongside Blakesberg’s work, the book features 275 images documenting the band’s rise from the psychedelic underground of the 1960s to a multigenerational cultural phenomenon, with 30 years of photographs by Adrian Boot, Snooky Flowers, Greg Gaar, Andy Leonard, Rosie McGee, Ron Rakow, Jonathan David Sabin, Elizabeth Sunflower, and Kirk West.
The project originated in 2023 with a show at Haight Street Art Center in San Francisco, where gallerist David Kordansky and Jay Blakesberg first met. A second iteration in Las Vegas drew over 65,000 visitors during Dead & Company’s 2024 Sphere residency.
Related: Who Took These Early Photos Of The Grateful Dead?
“An American Beauty: Grateful Dead 1965–1995 is not just a celebration of the band,” said Blakesberg, “it’s a visual journey through three decades of cultural evolution, community, and creativity. To bring this work into the fine art context of David Kordansky Gallery is deeply meaningful. It affirms what so many of us have always known: that the Grateful Dead’s impact reaches far beyond music. These photographs tell the story of a movement, a family, and a spirit that continues to inspire new generations.”
“It is incredibly special to see this wild, beautiful, and unique thirty-year span of rare Grateful Dead images come to life here at David Kordansky Gallery,” added Ricki Blakesberg. “Assisting David and my dad, Jay Blakesberg, in the curation of this exhibit has been an immense honor, and demonstrates just how powerful the Grateful Dead continues to be in their ability to inspire across generations.”
To celebrate the exhibition opening on July 15th, the gallery will host a panel discussion featuring photographers Jay Blakesberg and Rosie McGee, former Grateful Dead manager Ron Rakow, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Hollywood Reporter Shirley Halperin at 5 p.m., followed by an opening reception from 6–8 p.m. The exhibition will run through August 16th.
Click here to pre-order the photo book ahead of its official release on August 1st (Jerry Garcia’s birthday).
