A Cleveland Native, Lynyrd Skynyrd Drummer Michael Cartellone to Open an Art Exhibit Here in July

Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Michael Cartellone received a good dose of art while growing up in Cleveland. As a kid, he took a field trip to the Salvador Dali Museum, which was based here at the time, and had an epiphany.

“Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea Which at Twenty Meters Becomes the Portrait of Abraham Lincoln — Homage to Rothko, a piece which Dali had painted in 1976, stopped me in my tracks,” he says in a press release announcing that his new exhibit, Pixelism: The New Medium, will open at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown on Saturday, July 8. “This incredible painting has an amazing optical effect… at first, you see a nude woman, Dali’s wife, Gala, standing at an archway looking out to the sea… but as you move further back, the image changes focus and you see a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. It was an amazing thing to experience in person and had made a long- lasting impression on me.”

Cartellone will make one live appearance at the show from 1 to 4 p.m. on the day of the opening.

While he's had exhibitions throughout the country, this will mark his first Cleveland exhibit.  According the press release, the art "pays homage to the iconic people, places and things that are the history and the legacy of the city of Cleveland." The artwork features the sign from Captain Frank’s Seafood House, the Little Tom soda pop bottle and Mr. Jingeling’s Key. It'll also feature The Drumming Buzzard [pictured].

“I’m most excited about the ‘Cleveland specific’ paintings I’ve done for this show… each one a hometown snapshot from my childhood," says Cartellone.
“Being a Cleveland native, I could not be prouder to bring my art back home."