This Wednesday, AJ Masthay takes on Las Vegas’ Sphere once again!
Dead & Co. have started their 2025 residency at Las Vegas’ mind-blowing Sphere venue, and they’ve tapped AJ for another incredible gig poster for their legendary shows. AJ’s residency gig poster features art that puts us in a trance-like, meditative state, and we’re totally here for it!
Per AJ: “When approached with this project I was specifically asked for something ‘new and fresh,’ no small task when dealing with 60 years of iconography surrounding a band. To get away from past character based subjects, I really tried to focus on what gives an image that ‘Dead’ vibe, then adding my spin on it with a mix of psychedelia and realism.
The white tiger was the genesis, an icon of not only Las Vegas but also with multiple layers of meaning for the Grateful Dead. There’s the obvious Jerry connotations, but dig a little deeper and you come across the lyric ‘Just a tiger in a trance’ from Bobby’s Saint of Circumstance, I took this seed and ran with it. The tour cases and speaker stack denote the long strange trip of decades of live shows. The skull and lightning bolts in the background become a rolling thunder traveling across a stylized desert landscape, kicking up a wake of clouds that melt into a floral mass, all quickly advancing upon a single sphere.
Overall I feel this piece was very successful in achieving its goal and as always I’m absolutely honored to be a small part of the visual legacy of such an iconic band. With great love and respect.”
AJ’s print will be available on Wednesday (4/9) @ 12PM ET on our homepage, Bottleneckgallery.com!
Dead & Co - Sphere Residency 2025 by AJ Masthay
Fine art giclee on Entrada cotton rag paper
18 x 24 inches
Signed and hand-numbered AE of 400
$75
Dead & Co - Sphere Residency 2025 - Foil Variant by AJ Masthay
UV archival giclee on Rainbow Holographic foil paper
18 x 24 inches
Signed and hand-numbered AE of 150
$100
Dead & Co - Sphere Residency 2025 - Graphite OG by AJ Masthay
Graphite on Entrada cotton rag paper
18 x 24 inches
Signed
Tiger - Preliminary Sketch
Graphite on paper
Signed
INCLUDED RANDOMLY IN ONE LUCKY TUBE, NOT FOR SALE.