07-05-2025
Bob Dylan's unseen artworks to go on display
Almost 100 of Bob Dylan's unseen artworks will go on display from next week.
The 83-year-old Blowin' in the Wind singer, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, has created 97 new works to feature in London's Halcyon in a solo show.
Dylan's exhibition, opening on May 9, is based on the artist's studies of 'characters, objects and scenarios', according to the organisers, who added that they 'read like a glimpse into his visual journal'.
The American musician said of his latest works, which were made between 2021 and 2022: 'The idea was not only to observe the human condition, but to throw myself into it with great urgency.'
He added that he wanted to 'create living, breathing entities that have emotional resonance, colours used as weapons and mood setters, a means of storytelling'.
The exhibition comprises of 97 works made by Bob Dylan between 2021-22 - Halcyon
The artworks will 'read like a glimpse into his visual journal' - Halycon
The choice of Dylan's subjects include a mirror displaying a set of lips, a saxophonist with his instrument and a cowboy in front of a rising sun.
The artist has previously said that drawing provides him with moments where he can 'relax and refocus a restless mind'.
Dylan has recently been the subject of an Oscar-nominated Hollywood biopic about his early career and rise to fame, A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet.
The show, called Point Blank, also includes a range of figure studies as well as a limited selection of reworked drawings in monochromatic blue, red and neutral colours.
Part of the exhibition will also be a series of reworked drawings and sketches - Halycon
The series will feature a range of figure studies - Halycon
Paul Green, the president and founder of Halcyon, said: 'It is nearly 18 years since Halcyon first started working with Bob Dylan and it has been an extraordinary experience to watch this cultural icon develop into such a critically revered and important visual artist so closely.
'This latest body of paintings feels like a more intimate connection to the artist than in any of his previous work and it is a great privilege to share them with the public for the first time.'
Kate Brown, the gallery's creative director, said: 'These works on paper feel like memories, intangible windows into the life and imagination of one of the greatest storytellers who ever lived.
'People who attend the exhibition will discover that they provoke stories from our imagination. We consider the circumstances of the protagonists and ponder our movement through the spaces that the artist depicts.'
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