A guitar painted by Keith Richards himself will soon be on display for the first time in the Groninger Museum, during the return of the exhibition Unzipped about The Rolling Stones. The guitar was not there the first time.
The traveling exhibition will open on Friday 30 June. It is the last location where the exhibition can be seen after London, Sydney, the United States and Asia, among others.
Richards decided to paint the Gibson Les Paul when he was bored while awaiting his prison sentence, probably in 1967 or 1968. The painting started with his shoes, continued with his white boots and then the guitar had to die.
The painted guitar can be seen in the film Sympathy for the Devil (1968) by Jean-Luc Godard, in which Richards uses the Les Paul extensively. The instrument has become an iconic piece and now has a place in the exhibition.
Lockdowns
Unzipped was also on display in the Groninger Museum at the end of 2020 and early 2021. After the previous successful exhibition about David Bowie, it had to be a mega hit. But due to the many lockdowns due to the corona virus, only a limited number of people were able to visit the exhibition. The exhibition was extended for another month, but then it had to move on to the next planned location.
The Rolling Stones – Unzipped
The Rolling Stones – Unzipped can be viewed from 30 June 2023 to 21 January 2024 in the Groninger Museum. Tickets for the exhibition are available at rollingstonesgroningen.nl .