Biography

, better known by his stage name Captain Beefheart, was an American musician, sculptor, and painter. Born on January 15, 1941 in Glendale, CA, Van Vliet was considered a child prodigy in sculpture by his teachers but was discouraged from pursuing art by his parents. While still a teenager, he befriended another precocious youth, Frank Zappa, who encouraged his talents toward music. Van Vliet formed the band Captain Beefheart, releasing a series of albums that includes the seminal(1969). He would leave music in the late 70s to return to visual art, creating a series of bold paintings that have been described as Expressionistic, Primitivistic, and resembling outsider art. His career took off after Julian Schnabel purchased one of his paintings and Mary Boone hosted his first solo exhibition at her eponymous gallery in New York. Van Vliet’s works have been compared to Franz Kline Mark Rothko , and Jackson Pollock , and his major exhibitions have notably included solo shows at the Anton Kern and Michael Werner galleries in New York. He died on December 17, 2010 in Arcata, CA from complications stemming from multiple sclerosis.