The Bama Theatre will be hosting its “B Side: Rock & Roll Art Show” exhibit this summer that features the work of artists Linda Bell, Jeff Bertrand, Tony Bratina and Tony Brock.

Linda Bell, a graduate of The University of Alabama with an emphasis on art history, has exhibited her work in textile and digital medias since 2008. She currently works under the name Elles Beles and creates storytelling artwork on fabric, usually deriving inspiration from fairytales. For the “B Side” exhibit, Bell focused on the myth and legend associated with the idols of rock music.

Tony Brock is a Tuscaloosa artist who specializes in pop-surrealism.

“Pop-surrealism is hard to describe, but my definition of it is vivid colors with unreal and exaggerated subject matter that’s associated with popular culture,” Brock said.

A comic fan at heart, Brock is influenced by the cartoon style and non-realistic structures that allow him to create art without boundaries. His subject matter is broad, ranging from paintings of zombie bowlers to roller derby girls.

Another artist featured in the show, Jeff Bertrand, found inspiration in the outsider art, graffiti and tattoo culture of his hometown, Nashville, Tenn. Bertrand is the recipient of a Scholastic American Vision Award, which recognizes prestigious young artists, when he was 17.

Tony Bratina works as a graphic artist and illustrator at The Tuscaloosa News as well as various magazines that have won numerous awards. He is known for his graphic style that can be seen in the paper, but his art tends to be more expressive and loosely painted.

For the “B Side” show, Bratina fused his smooth graphic style with his expressive technique.

He also chose to focus on rock and roll’s most influential songs instead of the famous faces behind the microphone.

“While I think it’s really cool to capture the likeness and the soul of the artist in a portrait, I wanted to be just a little different and focus on their artwork,” Bratina said. “Also, I already knew that Tony Brock and the others were focusing on the portraits, so I decided to add just a little wrinkle.”

The “B Side: Rock & Roll Art Show” is presented by the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa and was the result of planning and discussion between artist Brock and Bama Theatre education director Sharron Rudowski.

“The ‘B Side’ exhibit came about from a conversation I had during one of the Thursday night art nights with Sharron Rudowski of the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa,” Brock said. “We thought it would be cool to do an art exhibit with a rock and music theme. It grew from there.”

The four featured artists are creating all new pieces for the exhibit.

“I love that the public can go to an art show and get a wide variety of styles all based on the same theme of rock and roll,” Bratina said. “It’s always interesting to see how other artists interpret the same subject.”

The exhibit will be on display from June 7 to July 5, with a public reception Friday, June 7, from 6–9 p.m.