From Boston Globe
March 5, 2008
He's Taken His Painting to a Whole New Level
Word that Paul Stanley is coming to Boston next month to show some of his paintings got us wondering what the KISS frontman could possibly know about art. So yesterday we called Gene Simmons's sidekick, and tracked him down tooling around LA in his black Mercedes sports car. Stanley, who'll be at the Wentworth Gallery in the Mall at Chestnut Hill on April 25 and 26, was remarkably well-spoken - erudite even - for a guy who's been singing "Rock and Roll All Nite" for 35 years.
What's going on with KISS?
I'm on my way to rehearsal in about an hour. We'll be playing in Australia and New Zealand next month, and then we're doing a really large tour of Europe. Stadiums in Stockholm and Helsinki sold out in 20 minutes.
A band I thought was a cool novelty act way back when has managed to make quite a go of it.
What can I say? Sometimes beauty is in the ear of the beholder.
Tell me about the art? Who knew you even painted?
I actually started about eight years ago. I was getting divorced, and sometimes you reach a point in traumatic situations like that where you can scream and bang your head against the wall or do something else. Someone suggested I should paint. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I knew I wasn't going to depict reality.
Given the personality of the band, I figured your paintings would be full of girls. But they're actually tame.
They're somewhere between abstract and abstract expressionism. As far as I'm concerned, there are no rules in art. The only boundaries are the edge of the canvas.
You've been around the world many times over. Who are some of your favorite artists?
It's humbling how many great artists there are who aren't famous. In the last century, Picasso embodied everything that art is. He saw art in everything. Then there's Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. Anybody who looks at a Pollock and says they can do that, I say try. The beauty of everything that's done well is that it appears easy.
Do you collect?
I've had pieces from time to time, but I've let a lot of great stuff slip through my hands. Andy Warhol wanted to do my portrait and I always said, 'I'll do it tomorrow.' Then Andy left this world. I had a great Miro, but my house isn't a museum.
With pieces selling for $14,000 and up, I imagine painting has been pretty lucrative for you.
$2 million last year. I guess it's pretty lucrative.
Why are you coming to Boston?
If you're going to spend that kind of money, it's a huge bonus to meet the artist. I've had some great times in Boston. I used to spend summers in Rockport when I was young, and I love the Orpheum. There were all those years we couldn't play Boston because of the fire marshal, but it's a great city. I'm looking forward to it.
March 5, 2008
He's Taken His Painting to a Whole New Level
Word that Paul Stanley is coming to Boston next month to show some of his paintings got us wondering what the KISS frontman could possibly know about art. So yesterday we called Gene Simmons's sidekick, and tracked him down tooling around LA in his black Mercedes sports car. Stanley, who'll be at the Wentworth Gallery in the Mall at Chestnut Hill on April 25 and 26, was remarkably well-spoken - erudite even - for a guy who's been singing "Rock and Roll All Nite" for 35 years.
What's going on with KISS?
I'm on my way to rehearsal in about an hour. We'll be playing in Australia and New Zealand next month, and then we're doing a really large tour of Europe. Stadiums in Stockholm and Helsinki sold out in 20 minutes.
A band I thought was a cool novelty act way back when has managed to make quite a go of it.
What can I say? Sometimes beauty is in the ear of the beholder.
Tell me about the art? Who knew you even painted?
I actually started about eight years ago. I was getting divorced, and sometimes you reach a point in traumatic situations like that where you can scream and bang your head against the wall or do something else. Someone suggested I should paint. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I knew I wasn't going to depict reality.
Given the personality of the band, I figured your paintings would be full of girls. But they're actually tame.
They're somewhere between abstract and abstract expressionism. As far as I'm concerned, there are no rules in art. The only boundaries are the edge of the canvas.
You've been around the world many times over. Who are some of your favorite artists?
It's humbling how many great artists there are who aren't famous. In the last century, Picasso embodied everything that art is. He saw art in everything. Then there's Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. Anybody who looks at a Pollock and says they can do that, I say try. The beauty of everything that's done well is that it appears easy.
Do you collect?
I've had pieces from time to time, but I've let a lot of great stuff slip through my hands. Andy Warhol wanted to do my portrait and I always said, 'I'll do it tomorrow.' Then Andy left this world. I had a great Miro, but my house isn't a museum.
With pieces selling for $14,000 and up, I imagine painting has been pretty lucrative for you.
$2 million last year. I guess it's pretty lucrative.
Why are you coming to Boston?
If you're going to spend that kind of money, it's a huge bonus to meet the artist. I've had some great times in Boston. I used to spend summers in Rockport when I was young, and I love the Orpheum. There were all those years we couldn't play Boston because of the fire marshal, but it's a great city. I'm looking forward to it.




