Art, music collide with Ringo Starr shows at Venetian
Ringo Starr’s creative outlets have merged under one roof.
Hours before the first of six shows with His All Starr Band in The Venetian Theatre, the legendary musician stopped by Animazing Gallery in the Grand Canal Shoppes to check in on his first art show since 2019.
“All this is new,” Starr said, gesturing toward an alcove in the gallery space. “It’s spin art, which I’m into now.”
Kaleidoscopic paintings line the walls. Several canvases are star-shaped, their colors coming together in a bit of organized chaos. Another seems to shine a spotlight on a muted image of a young Starr.
The rest of the gallery is filled with his more traditional Pop Art-style works, including painted drumheads. All of it is for sale, with proceeds benefiting Starr’s Lotus Foundation, which supports everything from cancer patients to those suffering from substance abuse to animals in need.
“It’s all for a good cause,” Starr said. “And I love good causes.”
With this confluence of music and art, a quick conversation turned to talk of the neighboring Sphere.
“I saw the Eagles at the Sphere,” he said. “It was great! Ah, it was far out.”
“There’s a show, the band’s down there, and then, suddenly, there’s like seven miles of beach, and you’re sort of on it,” Starr continued. “And the craziest one is, we’re watching, and between us and the band, people were swimming. Only illusions, but they were swimming. It’s, like, ‘That’s so real!’ I loved it.”
In a hypothetical world where John Lennon and George Harrison were still alive, would the chance to headline Sphere have been enough to reunite the Beatles?
“Well, maybe,” Starr said, before pausing and joking. “You know, what do I know? You’ll have to call the boys.”
The “STARR ART” exhibition and sale runs through Oct. 15.
Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band perform Friday, Saturday, Wednesday and Sept. 26-27.
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567.
