Frank Kozik, the graphic artist whose live-show posters helped define an entire era of American underground rock, has died. On Kozik’s Instagram, his widow Sharon writes that he “passed away unexpectedly this past Saturday.” No cause of death has been reported. Kozik was 61.

Frank Kozik, the son of an American serviceman and a Spanish woman, was born in Madrid. He moved to Sacramento as a teenager, dropped out of high school, and joined the Air Force. After being stationed in Austin, Kozik finished his time in the Air Force and worked at clubs. As a self-taught artist, he became a part of the city’s punk scene. In 1993, Kozik moved to San Francisco, where he started a print shop and launched Man’s Ruin Records, an indie label that put out music from bands like Melvins, the Dwarves, Unsane, and Kyuss, as well as the first Queens Of The Stone Age record, a 1998 split with the Dutch stoner rock band Beaver.

Kozik was most famous for his live-show posters — bright, vivid, colorful designs that tropes of classic Americana — little Norman Rockwell kids, glamorous Andy Warhol movie stars, cute cartoon characters — and put them in disturbing and hyperviolent circumstances. Kozik also designed the cover art for albums like Melvis’ Houdini, Spacemen 3’s Dreamweapon, Kyuss’ Into The Void, Queens Of The Stone Age’s self-titled debut, and the Offspring’s Americana. He also directed Soundgarden’s “Pretty Noose” video. Kozik’s poster art has been collected in a few different books.

In recent years, Frank Kozik was a force in the designer toy world, working as creative director of Kidrobot, creating the Labbit characters, and working with brands like Nike. Below, check out some of Kozik’s work.

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