Art - Roger Dean

Roger Dean, who painted the iconic designs for Yes’s era-defining prog rock albums in the seventies, is the main attraction of the ‘Art Depot’ exhibition in the Old Market Lane garage, on throughout Artwave. Roger, a Lewes resident, has for years harboured the dream of turning his otherworldly architectural designs into three-dimensional work and living spaces: over a quarter of million people visited his curvilinear ‘house for the new millennium’, exhibited in the International Ideal Home Exhibition and the International Green Show in the 80’s. He is currently working on several projects aiming to turn his designs into architectural reality. The exhibition will feature this aspect of his work, alongside pieces from three other artists. Francois Norris’ ‘Close Up’ features digital macro shots from the old garage; Mick Hawksworth’s ‘Video Snapshots’ will be projected onto one of the walls, and Dimos Malkoff’s ‘Abstract Paintings’ complete the bill.
The opening night of the exhibition, on August 24th, should ensure proceedings start off with quite a bang. Tongue and Groove, the outrageous glam-rock-influenced cover band (see page 12) will be joined by Arthur ‘God of Hellfire and Damnation’ Brown, one of the precursors to the seventies’ most over-the-top music genres. Without Arthur, it is unlikely we would have seen Alice Cooper, Sweet or David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust. “We will be setting fire to him,” promises T&G’s frontman Phil Rhodes, showing very little respect for the rock god who’s style he has been known to ape. “It should be quite a spectacle.” AL