Paintings By Bob Dylan Currently On Display In Miami

One of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 20th Century, Bob Dylan, is now displaying the other side of his talent in the Frost Art Museum at Florida State University. The contemporary artist, who is great with a paintbrush, has created a large scope of images that depict various poignant scenes. Through his entire life, which began in 1941, Bob Dylan has encountered a host of scenarios and movements that ran their course over the years. The world is always changing, and his music gave a soundtrack to the shifting of consensus. An avid anti-war voice with a desire for more freedoms to live our own lives, Dylan picked up a Nobel Prize for his inspiration to literature in which he gave rise to a new and modern American voice.


Since his breakthrough into music during the 1960s when he dropped out of college and moved to New York, the multi-talented musician has enjoyed a continual run of success and growth. A huge following began to form during the 60s and 70s as he wrote songs about human rights and the stupidity of war. After a motorcycle accident in 1966 in which Dylan broke his neck and survived, his touring came abruptly to a close. Working in the studio with The Band, his continual flow of American folk and blues took a turn into the realm of the album. AOR sentimentality perhaps became popular thanks to this twist of fate, with many musicians and bands preferring the scope of an artistic album over ten or twelve radio songs.


Despite his busy career with a schedule no-one would envy, Bob Dylan remained true to his passion for painting. Now in his 80s, the artist has created a huge catalogue of work that shows many intriguing aspects to his experiences and personality.


Retrospectrum is an exhibit hosted by The Frost Art Centre at Florida State University in Miami. The vast collection spans the musician's painted output from the late 60s until the modern day. Perhaps the more secretive side of this long-standing stage performer, the pictures immediately strike with quality of talent. On the retrospective, Dylan is known to have said “Seeing many of my works years after I completed them is a fascinating experience”. Artnet


Much like photography, Bob Dylan's paintings depict images of people and places with an inclusion of subtle drama that creates an immediate imaginary experience. Deep Focus is Dylan's latest series of paintings. These stills are taken from films, known for having iconic cinematography, in which the atmosphere and intention of the scenes are captured in static pigment. Situational story-telling in Bob Dylan's art provides the viewer with countless introspections toward life's twists and turns in ways that resonate with the brilliance of the artist. Over 180 paintings, photographs, and sculptures make the exhibition which opened in November.