Shortly after moving to Las Vegas in May, KISS bassist Gene Simmons will have his footprint in another part of the city—but not for music. Artwork that the musician created during the COVID-19 pandemic will stand in the Animazing Gallery in The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian and The Palazzo. Gene Simmons ArtWorks, a collection of drawings and textured paintings, will be publicly debuted from Oct. 22-23, with a private VIP event for art collectors and celebrities on Oct. 21. From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Oct. 22-23, Simmons himself will be in the gallery.

The art will remain in the gallery until it is purchased, said Nicholas Leone, CEO of Animazing Gallery, who added that when he first saw Simmons’ work—a few sketches and one painting in Simmons’ Las Vegas home—he was struck by how intimate and distinctive the subjects were. “I think, beyond … the execution of what he’s doing, it’s the variety,” Leone said. “It’s powerful. It’s dynamic. It’s personal. And it’s just full of energy.”

Simmons said that although he has had more time during the pandemic to direct his focus toward the pieces on display, art itself has always been a familiar aspect of his life. “I’ve always secretly done this because I didn’t think anybody cared,” he said. “We all have our secret passions.”

Growing up, Simmons said he loved to draw and usually stepped into a piece without a clear vision. Then he would follow his instincts to the end result. In the exhibited pieces, he primarily used paint and spackling paste—wall hole filler—to create splatter paint horizons and explosive scenery. Less conceptually, Gene Simmons ArtWorks also features a vibrantly colored portrait of his younger self and his mother.

Simmons is a self-described comic book geek and enjoys the imperfect quality of the heroes in the story’s pages. (His favorite character is the Silver Surfer of Marvel Comics, he said.) But unlike the comics he adores, Simmons said he rarely has a linear approach or methodology to his pieces. Not abiding by clear-cut regulations, especially as someone who is not a professionally trained artist, is a sentiment Simmons said he carries into his artwork today, including allowing visitors or potential buyers to touch the uneven surface of the pieces.

“I don’t know what the rules are, and maybe that’s OK,” he said. “Maybe the most honest way of doing almost anything is not to lose that childlike innocence.”

KISS will reinstate its End of the Road Tour Aug. 18 in Mansfield, Mass., after it was cut short by the pandemic in March. “Being on stage is like Gestalt therapy,” Simmons said. “You get a chance to just get rid of those tensions and all the things you think are oh-so-important.”

As for living in Las Vegas, Simmons says, “Vegas is great. It’s made up of actually very friendly, ethical and adventurous people.”

The Grand Canal Shoppes, 702.785.0061

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