Bob Dylan To Premiere New Works at National Gallery of Denmark

A major exhibition of Bob Dylan's paintings will open at the National Gallery of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst) in the autumn of 2010, it was announced today by the museum's Director, Karsten Ohrt. The exhibition will feature nearly 100 works, including the world premiere of 30 large-format acrylic paintings from the artist's forthcoming Brazil Series, as well as many original paintings from the internationally acclaimed The Drawn Blank Series.

According to Ohrt, "Bob Dylan's artworks are informed by the same constant compulsion to renew that characterizes his music. He doesn't seem satisfied with settling on one form of expression once he has perfected it, but is constantly experimenting and trying out new artistic techniques and styles."

While Bob Dylan has been a committed visual artist for more than four decades, The Drawn Blank Series casts a vibrant new light on the singular creativity of one of the world's most important and influential cultural figures. As Marisha Pessl wrote in the New York Times last year, "In Bob Dylan's extraordinary collection of paintings, we are given insight into the expressive, unvarnished way this artist approaches the world and reminded he is that rare person who can move effortlessly between music, word, ink and paint. . ..Yet again and again, he reflects life back to us with a truth and simplicity that defy words."

Chief Curator at the National Gallery of Denmark Kasper Monrad, who is organizing the exhibition, says, "Bob Dylan's visual artistic practice has only been discussed by art historians to a limited extent, so critical examination and interpretation are called for. Several of Dylan's images reveal an affinity for some of the modernist masters, not least Henri Matisse's works from the 1920s -- a link that is particularly interesting, given the unique collection of Matisse's earlier works that belong to the National Gallery of Denmark. The choice of motifs, the unusual expressivity and the existential tenor in Bob Dylan's works are testament to an imagery that is unmistakably his own."

In connection with the exhibition, National Gallery of Denmark will be publishing an accompanying catalogue featuring contributions by prominent Danish and international art historians.

The announcement of this new exhibition coincides with Dylan reaching remarkable new heights in his cultural impact and popularity. His latest, critically acclaimed album, Together Through Life, debuted at number one in numerous countries and was accompanied by sell out concert tours around the world. The artist recently announced a forthcoming holiday album, Christmas In The Heart, from which all of the artist's royalties will be donated to hunger relief organizations in perpetuity.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

SOURCE: Legacy Recordings

CONTACT: Tom Cording, Legacy Media Relations, Tom.Cording@sonymusic.com,
+1-212-833-4448; or Larry Jenkins, L. J. Entertainment,
Jenkins@ljentertainment.com