COLUMBUS, OH.- Ric Ocasek, renowned lead singer and songwriter from The Cars, debuted his first solo art exhibition, Noise Colored Party, at the Mahan Gallery. The two-month exhibition showcases select works from the 1980s to the present across several media: drawings with pen, colored pencils and markers, digital photo collages and mixed media paintings.

For Ocasek, who has also found success as a music producer for No Doubt, Nada Surf, Weezer and other groups, the boundary between the musical and the visual is nebulous. Like music, his artwork encompasses elements of rhythm, harmony and dynamics. He creates art as an escape, each piece emerging as a "transient daydream" or diversion as he works in his studio, passes time on airplanes or simply sits in a quiet spot. Self-described as colorful, abstract and unconscious, the artwork is an extension of himself – a collection of "self-portraits" -- created without pretense and with no intent for public exhibition. Visitors to the gallery are free to interpret and experience the artwork in their own way.

It is fitting that Ocasek's first art exhibition takes place in Columbus, the city where he spent many of his formative years as well as the city where he met fellow Cars bandmember, the late Benjamin Orr.

The Mahan Gallery presents the work of contemporary artists in a variety of media, including painting, photography, mixed media and sculpture. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 6pm and by appointment.