A series of striking paintings from cultural icon Bob Dylan have been released as signed limited edition prints by the UK’s leading fine art publisher, Washington Green.
The three new pieces are the second instalment of works to be released from Dylan’s widely acclaimed collection ‘The Brazil Series’, inspired by his travels to the South American country. They are available to buy from Birmingham’s two Castle Fine Art galleries situated in the International Convention Centre (ICC) and the Mailbox.
As one of contemporary culture’s most influential and ground-breaking artists, Dylan, now 74, continues to reinvent and inspire.
His contribution to music is well documented, having released 36 studio albums, wining 11 Grammy Awards and selling in excess of 125 million records worldwide. Having painted and sketched for years Dylan’s first major museum exhibition was in 2007 at Germany’s Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz. Subsequently, Dylan’s artwork has been exhibited at many of the world’s most prestigious museums and galleries, including The National Gallery of Denmark in which ‘The Brazil Series’ was first exhibited in 2011.
‘The Brazil Series’, released as a set of limited edition artworks by Washington Green earlier this year (May 2015), proved extraordinarily popular, selling out in a matter of months. Dylan further makes his mark as an accomplished artist with this second release from the series, painting scenes brimming with life and full of vibrant colour.
Brazil captured Dylan’s interest during his many visits to the country, when he used his free time, outside of rehearsing and performing, to gain an understanding and respect for the people and their culture. This is reflected in his three new pieces which capture the distinctive personality of Brazil – from the country’s infamous favelas to its beautiful coastline and the heart of its countryside, while subtly hinting at ever-prevalent themes of economic disparity and social inequality.
Dylan – whose work has been published in collaboration with Washington Green since 2008 – created art as a way of relaxing and refocusing his mind while touring around the world. He said:
“I try to live as simply as is possible and was just drawing whatever I felt like drawing, whenever I felt like doing it. The idea was always to do it without affection or self-reference, to provide some kind of panoramic view of the world as I was seeing it at the time.”
Beth McCarthy, Gallery Manager for ICC’s Castle Fine Art – Washington Green’s network of high street galleries across the UK – said:
After a number of successful past collections, ‘The Brazil Series’ is rich body of work that further cements Bob’s artistic standing. In this collection, Dylan offers up the many faces of Brazil to intrigue and inspire the viewer, capturing moments he has stumbled upon, rather than sought out.
Looking at the paintings, the tonal colours and style of brush strokes used are reminiscent of French impressionist artist Paul Cézanne – one of Dylan’s real inspirations. One of the pieces ‘Grande Árvore Beachfront’ even nods towards Cézanne’s most famous collection of paintings ‘The Card Players’ in its composition.
The record sales of the previous release of ‘The Brazil Series’ is testament to Dylan’s popularity as an artist and we have no doubt this engaging collection will prove as popular as ever.
Dylan’s previous signed limited edition collections published by Washington Green include ‘The Drawn Blank Series’, a collection drawings sketched while touring America, Europe and Asia, ‘Sidetracks’, hand embellished images based on Bob Dylan’s most iconic image Train Tracks, and ‘The Brazil Series’.
The three new pieces from ‘The Brazil Series’ by Dylan can be viewed and purchased at Castle Fine Art, ICC, Broad Street, B1 2EA. Each of the works are certificated and personally signed by Bob Dylan with the limited edition prints priced at £1,500.