The Dead

[Drunk Monk]

Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart to bring major art show to S.F. ahead of Dead & Company’s sold-out concerts
By Zara Irshad,Staff WriterUpdated July 17, 2025 12:25 p.m.
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Nearly 100 pieces of art made by Mickey Hart will be on view in San Francisco ahead of his three-night stint of Dead & Company performances at Golden Gate Park.
C Flanigan/Getty Images
[url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/mickey-hart-espn-documentary-19594159?_gl=1*lctb5e*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3NTA5ODM1NTIuQ2p3S0NBanczX1BDQmhBMkVpd0FrSF9qNGg3NTZ6a2taenFDYXlYNEgxdmhST0pBcmg5NU5CemgybmlUeXdteFVobEtQa2p2b0NJX2lCb0NkblFRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*MTk1NDkxMTE4MC4xNzUwMDk1Nzgy*_ga*MTY1MzU5NTM3OC4xNzE1OTAwODYz*_ga_56G0ZT3ZD0*czE3NTIyNjM5NzckbzEzMjkkZzEkdDE3NTIyNjg5MzYkajU0JGwwJGgw]Mickey Hart plans to debut his largest-ever art exhibition in San Francisco ahead of two major Grateful Dead 60th anniversary concerts in the city this month.
The Dead drummer, who joined the Bay Area jam band in 1967 and now performs in the spinoff band Dead & Company with fellow Dead veteran Bob Weir, will showcase nearly 100 original paintings and prints as part of “Mickey Hart: Art of the Edge of Magic,” on view from Thursday, July 24, through Sept. 21, at Haight Street Art Center. It will mark Hart’s first art show in a San Francisco museum. 
An opening reception is scheduled at the nonprofit art center from 4-9 p.m. July 31, the night before Dead & Company’s three-night stint at Golden Gate Park.  

“Gronk” is one of nearly 100 pieces by Mickey Hart set to be part of his upcoming exhibit at the Haight Street Art Center.
Courtesy of Mickey Hart
“We have always gravitated to art that transforms and transports viewers,” Kelly Harris, executive director of the Haight Street Art Center, said in a statement. “Hart’s entire musical career has been devoted to doing just that, while his art of the past several decades has expanded this ethos into the visual realm.”

More Information
“Mickey Hart: Art at the Edge of Magic”: Poured paintings. Noon-6 p.m. Thursday-Sundays. July 24-Sept. 21. Free. Haight Street Art Center, 215 Haight St., S.F. www.haightstreetart.org 

Though he works with paint, Hart rarely uses paintbrushes. Instead, he pours paint onto surfaces, utilizing subwoofer vibrations to shape his works, a process he refers to as “vibrational expressionism.”  
“When I paint, I can feel the vibration, I can see it in the colors,” Hart said in a statement. “This mix is exotic and profound in a vibratory and sensual way. I use musical instruments to create and power the paintings out of the vibrations that are formed. When I approach a canvas, it is just like I approach my drums in performance, with an open mind.”

“Nagara Psychopomp” is one of nearly 100 pieces by Mickey Hart that will be part of his upcoming exhibit at the Haight Street Art Center.
Courtesy of Mickey Hart
Hart plans to show his paintings lit from behind in addition to having pieces on “plexiglass rendered in pigments sensitive to blacklight,” according to the museum. 
The exhibition is also expected to feature the devices Hart uses to create his poured paintings as well as a musical audio experience.
Hart previously brought the immersive art exhibition to Las Vegas to coincide with Dead & Company’s first residency at the Sphere last year. 
“Just like the Grateful Dead’s music transcends the surface level of rock and roll, my art serves as a vessel for raising consciousness, striving to create a slightly better world,” Hart said.


Dead & Company are set to perform in Golden Gate Park on Aug. 1-3, in celebration of the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary.
Adam Pardee/For the S.F. Chronicle
Hart played drums for the Dead from 1967 to 1971. He briefly left the band after his father, the Dead’s money manager at the time, was found embezzling approximately $155,000 of the group’s profits. Mickey Hart was not involved in the scandal and eventually rejoined the Dead in 1974. He performed with the band until its final show in 1995 and has since continued collaborating with former Dead members in projects like The Other Ones, The Dead and, since 2015, Dead & Company.
Meanwhile, Grahame Lesh, son of the late Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, who died in October, is also hosting his own string of concerts for Deadheads to enjoy during the milestone celebration later this month. 
His three-night concert series, titled Heart of Town, is set to run July 31 through Aug. 2, at Pier 48. It will feature performances from Grahame’s jam band, Grahame Lesh & Friends, as well as other artists such as Santa Ana saxophonist Karl Denson, Louisville jazz musician John Medeski and New York indie rock singer Karina Rykman.