BOB DYLAN PAINTINGS TO OPEN IN LONDON
Halcyon are showcasing a solo exhibition of new paintings by Bob Dylan.
The show brings together 97 works on paper and marks the latest chapter in the artist’s parallel career as a visual artist, one that continues to evolve alongside his music.
Photo Credit: Point Blank, Halcyon
Based on quick studies of characters, objects, and scenarios, Dylan’s artwork finds poetic resonance in the details. The new paintings read as a glimpse into his visual journal; they are a masterful expression of a dynamic imagination – emphasised via the eclectic swathe of subjects depicted.
Photo Credit: Point Blank, Halcyon
Dylan explains that in creating these paintings: ‘The idea was not only to observe the human condition, but to throw myself into it with great urgency.’
Point Blank will feature a series of 97 original paintings on paper by Bob Dylan. Akin to his previous series, Drawn Blank, a series of graphite drawings made while on the road travelling between Europe and the Americas in 1989-92 and later reworked with paint, these new works use original sketches created between 2021 and 2022 as their foundation. These drawings were then painted over with vibrant colours and expressive brushwork. In enlivening his drawings with paint, the artist explains: ‘As to the colour schemes, the idea was to create living breathing entities that have emotional resonance, colours used as weapons and mood setters, a means of storytelling.’
The choice of subjects adds to the series’ intense emotional resonance. The choice of subjects adds to the series’ intense emotional resonance. Intriguing object studies such as 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, all provoke our imagination to contemplate the protagonists of his art and the situations they find themselves in.
The painterliness of the new series is infused with a spontaneity, as if capturing fleeting moments or memories. Dylan draws us close with his intimate representations of subjects that appear to stem from a lived perspective – as the viewer we are invited in to inhabit these spaces he depicts.
Photo Credit: Point Blank, Halcyon
Dylan has said previously that drawing provides moments where he can ‘relax and refocus a restless mind’ amidst busy schedules. The personal quality of the Point Blank series is a product of this practice: providing an insight into the artist’s imagination and immediate surroundings. The series includes a vast range of figure studies, perhaps from people the artist has encountered or imagined. Dylan does not distinguish between the two, allowing us to tease the narratives out of our own imagination.
Bob Dylan: Point Blank is open at 148 New Bond Street on 9 May. The exhibition is open daily and is free to enter.