The Drawn Blank Series

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His brushstrokes are like his voice: straightforward, rough, occasionally fragile. He's not after artistic perfection but something larger, a moment, a feeling. The effect is enthralling.” He’s celebrated across the globe for his revolutionary music, with the Independent newspaper naming him ‘the most important figure in pop-culture history’ in 2011. But it isn’t just songs like ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ and ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ that have made Bob Dylan one of the world’s most influential people; his foray into fine art continues to take centre stage.

Whilst travelling on tour between 1989 and 1992, Bob Dylan created a collection of drawings that were published in a book entitled 'Drawn Blank' in 1994. These expressive works capture Dylan's chance encounters and observations. The creation of these portraits, interiors, landscapes, still lifes, nudes and street scenes were done to "relax and refocus a restless mind".Ingrid Mössinger - the curator of the Kunstsammlungen Museum, in Chemnitz, Germany - came across Drawn Blank' during a visit to New York in 2006. In 2019, he held his retrospective Retrospectrum exhibition at MAM Shanghai, which went on to open at Today's Art Museum in Beijing in July 2020. Featuring his artistic output to date, the tour will cover Asia, Europe and the USA. As a fine-artist, Bob Dylan began drawing in the 1960's to pass time whilst recovering from a motorbike crash. His work was first brought to public attention in 1994 with the publication of the Drawn Blank book, a compilation of drawings and sketches made between 1989 and 1992 whilst on tour in America, Asia and Europe.hese paintings formed a collection entitled 'The Drawn Blank Series'. Unlike the delicacy of the drawings in 'Drawn Blank' the paintings are expressive and vibrant. Dylan paints several versions of the same image, using different colours and tones which result in a dynamic variety of impressions, feelings and emotions.This choice and skill in applying different colour arrangements to the same original drawing enables Dylan to express his feelings and perceptions of an idea or view - continually evoking different feelings and reactions, and thereby creating evolving works of art. This technique is intrinsic to Dylan in all aspects of his creative life. Mondo Scripto opened at Halcyon Gallery in London. The exhibition presented a selection of Bob Dylan’s most iconic songs, handwritten in pen on paper and accompanied with a corresponding drawing in graphite, also on paper. As Tom Piazza, a celebrated novelist and writer on American music, writes in the introduction to the exhibition catalogue, 'Dylan’s restlessly creative mind is never wholly satisfied, and those familiar with these songs will find surprise at many a new turn of phrase. The unexpected couplings of these works and images offer a surprisingly intimate door into each song, adding dimension, delight and insight into the artist’s relation to his own work.' Collection is comprehensive, covering a substantial part of the artist’s body of work making it capable of serving as a stand-alone exhibition. The Drawn Blank series reveals the artist's penchant for experimentation and spontaneity, with each brushstroke imbued with a raw and visceral energy. While Dylan's artistic style may appear deceptively simple at first glance, it is this very unpretentiousness that allows the observer to connect deeply with the essence of his compositions. When Dylan first drew the works in this series he had intended to create paintings based upon them. Ingrid Mössinger’s proposed exhibition encouraged him to now do this using watercolour and gouache. “I was fascinated to learn of Ingrid’s interest in my work and it gave me impetus to realize the vision I had many years on” commented Bob Dylan. These paintings formed the collection entitled The Drawn Blank Series .

More than a decade later, Dylan was approached by the Chemnitz Art Gallery in Germany with a request to mount an exhibition of his sketches and drawings. It was the first time he had an offer of this kind and accepted. This interest in his work inspired him to revisit his art and prompted the creation of 320 new pieces. These new creations were subsequently used for the exhibition and make up the Drawn Blank series today.

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Bob Dylan created a collection of drawings that were published in a book entitled Drawn Blank in 1994. These expressive works captured Dylan’s chance encounters and observations whilst travelling on tour between 1989 and 1992, creating portraits, land and cityscapes, interiors, nudes and still life were done to “relax and refocus a restless mind”. Bob Dylan's art is a glimpse of the world through his eyes. These paintings show a man on the periphery, constantly peering in, observing and are somewhat telling of life on tour. Views of hotel rooms, car parks and awkward looking people in bars are just some of the subjects he paints. Infused with the radiant light of Provence and displayed in Château La Coste’s Renzo Piano-designed art gallery, this exhibition presents 23 unseen canvases from The Drawn Blank Series, an important collection of Bob Dylan’s work created between 2007-2009 .

DISPLAY– Requires approx. 100-110 linear meters (325-375 linear feet), depending on the installation. Drawing upon a diverse range of subjects, Bob Dylan's Drawn Blank series showcases his masterful use of line, form, and colour, which exudes a sense of introspection and emotional depth. Comprising sketches, watercolours, and gouaches, the collection is a vibrant interplay of vivid hues and subtle shades, evoking a palpable sense of movement and life.Dylan dates the origins of his work as a visual artist to the early 1960s. A few drawings reached the public gaze with album covers like Music from Big Pink(1968) and Self Portrait(1970). In 1974, Dylan spent two seminal months studying art with Ashcan School tutor Norman Raeben, who philosophised the importance of 'perceptual honesty' - painting life as it as seen, not imagined.Dylan says of this time: "He put my mind and my hand and my eye together, in a way that allowed me to do consciously what I unconsciously felt." The artist’s journeys between cities and towns are personified by his Expressionist lines, which capture the instant moment of a place, person and time. Repeated motifs encourage the viewer to explore the depths of colour and the evolution of his work.His art has been likened to that of Pablo Picasso, with critics applauding the relatability of his collections. He paints mostly from life, stating: "I’m pretty much interested in people, histories, myth, and portraits; people of all stripes." The Drawn Blank Series focuses on three years of Dylan’s artistic career, from 1989 to 1992. The works were drawn whilst touring America, Europe and Asia and reveal a personal insight into “a life lived out of a suitcase” [Andrew Graham-Dixon].The artist’s journeys between cities and towns are personified by his expressionist lines, which capture the instant moment of a place, person and time. Repeated motifs encourage the viewer to explore the depths of colour and the evolution of his work. The exhibition is curated by Ms. Katharine J. Wright, Consulting Curator EXHIBITION MATERIALS– High resolution images, captions, wall texts.