Drawn Blank

Product Information

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.' 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.” 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 . Upon their first release in the Drawn Blank book in 1994, Dylan’s sketches wowed critics and viewers alike with their confident hand and raw honesty. Capturing his chance encounters and observations whilst on tour, the release of The Drawn Blank Seriesin 2008 marked his UK fine art debut.

I don’t really associate them with any particular time or place or state of mind,” explained Dylan, “but view them as part of a long arc…One can be profoundly influenced by events in Morretes, Brazil, as they can be by the man who sells El Pais in Madrid.” The exhibition is curated by Ms. Katharine J. Wright, Consulting Curator EXHIBITION MATERIALS– High resolution images, captions, wall texts.

Your compare list

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. Museum curators are provided with extensive information and may curate the exhibition to their specifications. A collection of Bob Dylan's drawings and sketches, made while on a tour of America, Europe and Asia between 1989 and 1992, were published in 'Drawn Blank' in 1994. These drawings were re-worked and first shown at a museum exhibition in Germany in autumn 2007, and at Halcyon Gallery, London in 2008 to huge critical acclaim. In 2010 an exhibit of additional paintings premiered at the National Gallery of Denmark, in Copenhagen. What followed was an artistically significant publishing programme which continues to draw great interest as a source of insight into Bob Dylan.

To reflect the amazing body of work contained in 'The Drawn Blank Series', a publishing programme of limited edition graphics commenced, releases in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 generated huge worldwide interest, leading to many of the pieces selling out immediately. Summer 2013 saw the release of 'The Drawn Blank Series 2013', a portfolio of eleven pieces reflecting some of the best images from the collection. Now 'The Drawn Blank Series 2016' continues the journey with some of the most profound and haunting images yet released. In short, if you are looking for a return over the short to medium term, other artists outperform Bob Dylan. Throughout the series, viewers may recognise echoes of Dylan's music, as he translates his lyrical sensibility onto the canvas. His portrayal of human figures, cityscapes, and landscapes exudes a distinctive sense of fleeting moments frozen in time, inviting viewers to dive into the soul of the portrayed subjects and experience their narratives. During the last six decades he has released more than 50 albums and written in excess of 500 songs, some of the most famous being ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’, ‘The Times They Are A-Changin ’’ and ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, which were visually reimagined for the first time in his Mondo Scripto collection. His songs have been covered more than 6,000 times by artists as diverse as Duke Ellington, Jimi Hendrix, Guns N’ Roses, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Marley, Pearl Jam, Neil Young, Adele and U2. 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.

Recent searches

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. Since releasing his debut studio album, Bob Dylan, in 1962, Dylan's cultural influence has extended beyond music to encompass art and literature. In 2016, he became the first songwriter to win the Nobel Prize in Literature for 'having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition'. Such is his effect on wider culture that 'Dylanology' - the study of Dylan's work - has canonised his songwriting, poetry and art for new generations to dissect and interpret. At Harvard University, Dylan's work is taught by its Professor of the Classics, Richard F. Thomas, alongside the Roman poets Ovid and Virgil.

In June, Dylan released his 39th studio album, Rough and Rowdy Ways. An international sensation, the album hit the Top Ten in 15 countries, including #1 chart entries in the Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The Guardian called the album a 'testament to his eternal greatness', while the LA Times dubbed it a 'savage pulp noir masterpiece'. Bob Dylan has been sketching since the early 1960s, although his work was only shown to the public and made available to buy in 2008. Dylan tends to take on different artistic styles in each of his series, which are generally inspired by the countries and cities he has travelled through whilst on tour. His Beaten Path collection, for example, saw him replicate the American heartlands in broad swaths of watercolour and acrylic on canvas, whilst the more recent Mondo Scripto series features graphite illustrations based on and accompanying his own lyrics.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.