Dolores Tropiano
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 12, 2007 01:48 PM
One of Arizona’s largest and most exciting celebrity art galleries is moving to the Kierland Commons.
The Rock Star Gallery opens Nov. 20 on Main Street in the upscale, shopping center in northeast Phoenix.
The gallery showcases artwork created by such legendary rockers as the Ronnie Wood, Jerry Garcia, Ringo Starr, Janis Joplin, Grace Slick fame and more.
Originals by Wood, include Forty Licks, which depicts the Rolling Stones with their arms wrapped around each other taking a bow. Signed prints sell for $1,400 and up.
The gallery also features famous photos that capture the sometimes crazed rock culture in candid ways as well as celebrity caricatures by people such as German artist Sebastian Kruger.
“We are very pleased with the opportunity for Rock Star Gallery to become a part of the Kierland Commons community,” said Donna Dunn, who owns the gallery with her husband, Michael Dunn. “The gallery continues to revitalize the art culture in Scottsdale by providing the most unique celebrity art and music collectibles in the country.”
The gallery also specializes in authentic memorabilia including autographed guitars, vintage albums, limited-edition rock photographs, books and other collectibles signed by the artists.
Custom designed artist displays sell for $7,500 to $30,000.
“It is the ultimate rock and roll experience,” said Michael Dunn, 48, whose enthusiasm for his store knows no boundaries. “We created a unique balance between unbelievable artwork by artists and collectibles for the serious collector.”
Kierland Commons was the first choice for Dunn, when he opened the store at Scottsdale Road and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard in November 2004.
During the past three years, the hip gallery has drawn hundreds of people to celebrity appearances.
Fans hungry for a piece of the past soaked up stories told by people who were actually a part of the sometimes psychedelic scene of the ’60s and ’70s.
“We enable people to come into an intimate environment and not only meet the stars, but also get to hear the stories behind the pictures. It’s like a jig-saw puzzle and we get to put the pieces together,” Michael Dunn continued. “We get to watch fans take a trip without even leaving the gallery.”
Dunn envisioned the Rock Star Gallery after taking a trip to Hawaii and walking into a small store that sold rock and roll memorabilia.
He put together a $68 wooden model of his current store and began to sell the idea around town.
Much of the original memorabilia came from Dunn’s personal collection, which started when he was 16, growing up in Scottsdale.
Dunn purchased his first bootlegged Led Zeppelin album from a store on Mill Avenue for $40.
He attended Coronado High School and then Arizona State University and worked for years as the marketing director for a local traffic-reporting company.
Then a personal challenge helped inspire him to go after his dream.
“The worse thing I could do was to look over my shoulder years from now and wonder what might have happened had I pursued my dream,” Dunn said.
Since the gallery has opened, Dunn, who could pass for a rock star himself, has had many amazing doors open for him, including an opportunity to attend the Grammy Awards in February and sit with Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.
The new gallery, will build on Dunn’s previous success by moving the stage to the front of the store where doors will open onto Main Street.
URock, a new addition to the gallery will spotlight local performers and visual artists that will later be featured on the galleries website www.rockstar.net.
The Kierland gallery will have diagonal wood floors, large plasma televisions, a granite star and other special touches.
And of course, it will continue to host bigger and better celebrity artists exhibitions.
“Rock Star has created something in their neck of the world that is the envy of many. They reached all their goals and have continued to push forward with new dreams,” said Danny Stern, whose Limelight Agency represents many of the artists Dunn showcased. “The move into their new space is an exciting one for all of us. They dreamed of a gallery that would be much more then a source of fine art and collectable, but rather a center of entertainment and excitement in their community. The way they shared this vision was nothing less then intoxicating.”
www.kierlandagent.com
