In the mid-1970s, three legendary Bay Area artists — Alton Kelley, Pat Ryan, and Dave Sheridan — ignited a creative spark that became The Artista Gang. What began as a loose circle of friends and collaborators around the Marin and Sausalito art scenes evolved into one of the most colorfully mythic art collectives of its time — part poster movement, part social happening, part Family.
At the center of it all was Alton Kelley, the visionary designer best known for his psychedelic rock posters for the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and Jefferson Airplane. Within the Artista circle, Kelley was affectionately called “El Presidente.” His humor, aesthetic discipline, and Love of hot-rod and car-club culture inspired the idea of the “gang” — artists with satin jackets, a dragon logo, and a shared irreverence for creative boundaries.
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