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Daily Mail
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Bob Dylan, 83, turns his hand back to art as he is set to showcase 97 'emotional' paintings at new exhibition
Bob Dylan is turning his hand from music to painting once again as he is set to showcase an impressive 97 pieces of art at an upcoming exhibition. The Nobel Prize for Literature winner, 83, will bring his original works - featuring many interesting characters, objects and scenarios - to the Halcyon Gallery at 148 New Bond Street. His solo show Point Blank - which captures couples, sportsmen, and people playing instruments among other creations - is based on original sketches created between 2021 and 2022. The drawings were then painted over with colours to create 'living, breathing entities that have emotional resonance, colours used as weapons and mood setters, a means of storytelling', according to Dylan. 'The idea was not only to observe the human condition, but to throw myself into it with great urgency,' he said. The drawings show a mirror which displays a set of lips, a saxophonist looking introspectively at his instrument and a cowboy whose pistol hangs on his belt in front of a rising sun. Point Blank will feature 97 new and unseen original paintings by global sensation Dylan (Halcyon/PA) Some of the drawings have been reworked as blue, red and neutral monochromatic studies, which may hark back to Pablo Picasso's early Blue Period. The Point Blank series started as a book of 'quick studies' that also includes accompanying prose. Kate Brown, creative director at Halcyon, 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.' Dylan previously had an exhibition at a Halcyon Gallery for his Drawn Blank Series, featuring graphite drawings he made while he was travelling between Europe and the Americas from 1989 to 1992 and later reworked with paint. He has said his works are a way to 'relax and refocus a restless mind' amid busy touring schedules. Paul Green, 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.' Last year, a rare painting by the folk music legend went up for auction after he created the piece during his Woodstock years, around 1968, according to RR Auction. Another painting from the era by Dylan, 82, recently sold for $100,000 at auction after he gifted it to his late manager Albert Grossman. Dylan, who has won 10 Grammys and been nominated 38 times, is one of the most acclaimed songwriters, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. His songs have been recorded more than 6,000 times, with artists as varied as The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix and Adele finding both commercial and critical success with covers. Dylan began his career in 1962 with the single Mixed-Up Confusion, which failed to chart in the UK or the US – before hitting stardom with a string of singles in 1965, including The Times They Are A-Changin', Subterranean Homesick Blues and Like A Rolling Stone. This period of his newfound fame was recently covered in 2024 biopic A Complete Unknown starring Timothee Chalamet as the influential folk singer. It follows Dylan's early days in the 1960s, culminating in his controversial performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, after he had gone electric, and was nominated for eight Oscars and six Baftas. The free exhibition Bob Dylan: Point Blank will open at 148 New Bond Street on May 9. Timothée Chalamet embodied Dylan as he took on the leading role of the esteemed musician in the biopic A Complete Unknown. Based on Elijah Wald's 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric!, the movie follows Dylan as a 19-year-old arriving in 1961 New York City. Shedding light on his relationship with his hero Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) and other folk music legends, A Complete Unknown charts his rise to fame and the controversy around his musical shift. The film also stars Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo, Edward Norton as Pete Seeger and Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash. Timothée was cast as Dylan back in 2020, when it was announced that James Mangold would direct Jay Cocks' script, which he re-wrote.
USA Today
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Dolly Parton has some thoughts on bid to rename Nashville airport after her
Dolly Parton has some thoughts on bid to rename Nashville airport after her While at Music City's Belmont University on Tuesday, Dolly Parton answered questions about Nashville International Airport being renamed in her honor. Show Caption Hide Caption New Dolly Parton musical to premiere at Nashville's Belmont University Dolly Parton's new musical about her life, "Dolly: An Original Musical," will premiere at Belmont University this summer before heading to Broadway. Of the many projects that country legend and cultural icon Dolly Parton has and will continue to embark on in the next few years, seeing Nashville International Airport named after her isn't likely to be one of them. "I think that's probably more of a joke than anything," Parton told the Tennessean about petition signed by more than 2,600 people to put her name on BNA. The proposal was circulated after Tennessee state legislators pitched renaming the airport after President Donald Trump. Parton discussed the potential of her name being officially tied to Music City's global travel hub exclusively backstage at Belmont University's Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday morning. The Country Music and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was in Nashville to announce that the story of her life, "Dolly: An Original Musical," would make its world premiere at the Fisher Center in July and August 2025. Parton joined the musical's director, Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher, onstage at the 1,700-plus-seat Fisher Center for the announcement, which members of the press and Belmont students attended. The event also marked the reveal of "Dolly U," described as an "immersive educational experience that will begin with a focus on creating the musical's world premiere," presented by Parton, "Dolly: An Original Musical," CTK Enterprises, and Belmont University. Departin' from D. Parton? "I mean, it does sound like a lot of fun to say: "'Your flight is departin' from Nashville's D. Parton,'" Parton said. "But I couldn't imagine what (having my name attached to the airport could be) as an actual thing." An alternative name for Nashville International Airport was pitched on Jan. 17, just days before President Donald Trump took office for his second term. Tennesseee State Representative Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill, introduced a bill to the Tennessee House of Representatives suggesting it be called "Trump International Airport." Four days later on Jan. 21, comedian Lydia Popovich started the online petition to honor the Tennessee native by putting Parton's name on airport signage. "We request that the airport's name be changed to Dolly Parton International Airport to honor an icon who has given so much to our state and to the world," reads the petition. "We could all be Departin' from Parton!" The petition cites Dolly's Imagination Library program, philanthropic efforts, and musical exploits as reasons for the honor. However, it fails to offer a funding plan for the potential rebrand. Nashville International Airport's naming history Nashville International Airport's current code is "BNA" for Berry Field Nashville, the original name. The airport was named after Colonel Harry S. Berry, a World War I veteran who helped found the Nashville airport in 1937. Berry was also a University of Tennessee trustee and Tennessee's supervisor and administrator for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The name was changed to Nashville International Airport in February 1988 to reflect its international air service goals and the establishment of an American Airlines hub.
