Bob Dylan's art on show in Exeter
Internationally renowned music icon Bob Dylan will have a vibrant selection of his art on show in Exeter in a retrospective exhibition that brings together works released annually from 2008 to 2014, all from his critically-acclaimed collection: The Drawn Blank Series. All of the pieces are hand-signed by the artist.
The exhibition at Castle Galleries in the city will be showcasing the best of Bob Dylan’s art released over the last six years – inspired while he was on the road from 1989 to 1992 - and will be on display at the Cathedral Yard venue, from Saturday 28th February, for two weeks only.
Dylan’s acclaimed The Drawn Blank Series originally started life as sketched pencil drawings charting his everyday observations, but then transformed into The Drawn Blank Series as the accomplished artist added watercolour and gouache to create impactful canvasses. Often reworking the same image, using different colours and tones to result in a dynamic variety of impressions, Dylan continually evokes an array of feelings and reactions, thereby creating an evolving body of art.
Selina Cassidy, Castle Galleries, Exeter’s Gallery Manager, said: “It is an honour to have The Drawn Blank Series on display at our gallery.
“Bob Dylan is notably one of the most influential cultural figures of our time but many people don’t know that he’s a great artist too. The way in which he uses colour is beyond comparison to any other artist, instantly breathing emotion and feeling into a painting. It’s similar to how he can sing a song in different styles and change how the listener interprets it.”
Upon the series’ unveiling in 2008, Marisha Pessl wrote in the New York Times, “In Bob Dylan’s extraordinary collection of paintings, we are given insight into the expressive, unvarnished way this artist approaches the world and reminded he is that rare person who can move effortlessly between music, word, ink and paint….again and again, he reflects life back to us with a truth and simplicity that defy words.
“His brush strokes are like his voice, straightforward, rough, occasionally fragile, but always intent on illustrating the treads of human experience. Seemingly unworried about how something looks, he’s not after artistic perfection but something larger, a moment, a feeling. The effect is enthralling.”
Only 295 limited edition graphics of each painting have been created, and each of the works are certificated and personally signed by Bob Dylan. The prints are priced from £1,750.
The Drawn Blank Series is free of charge to view and will be on display from Saturday 28th February until Sunday 15th March. For further information visit the gallery at 18 Cathedral Yard, call 01392 425 242 or go to www.castlefineart.com.
Richard James, originally from Cornwall, will be playing a live acoustic set of Bob Dylan songs from 2-4pm on Saturday 28 February.
