Blues For Allah

Philip Garris

20” x 21” x 1 1/4”

Black walnut 2026

Created for the 1975 album Blues For Allah by the Grateful Dead, the original image by Philip Garris departs from the band’s more overt iconography, entering a more contemplative and symbolic register.

The composition centers on a seated figure framed within a circular field, accompanied blethering that carries both decorative and structural weight. The image draws on influences beyond Western poster traditions, suggesting a broader visual and spiritual vocabulary.

In carving this piece, the emphasis shifts toward quiet structure. The figure and text emerge through measured cuts, allowing a composition to resolve through balance rather than contrast.

Within The Eleven Collection, Blues For Allah introduces a moment of reflection—an inward turn within a body of work otherwise driven by image and symbol.