Bob Dylan to exhibit artwork in Denmark

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - He writes, he sings, he sometimes exchanges blows in the boxing ring. But Bob Dylan is also familiar with another type of canvas as a quietly prolific painter.

Nearly 100 artworks from the noted musician will be exhibited at the National Gallery of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst) next year, the museum said on Tuesday.

The show, set to open in the fall of 2010 in Copenhagen, will include the world premiere of 30 large-format acrylic paintings as well as works previously displayed in European venues.

Several of Dylan's images reveal an affinity for some of the modernist masters, such as French artist Henri Matisse's works from the 1920s, said the gallery's chief curator, Kasper Monrad, who is organizing the exhibition.

"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," Monrad said in a statement released by Dylan's Columbia Records label.

Dylan first put his paintings on display in 2007 at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz museum in the small German city of Chemnitz. Last year, a London gallery hosted an exhibition of his works.

The works at both venues were from his "Drawn Blank" series. The paintings that will be unveiled for the first time in Denmark are from the "Brazil Series." A Dylan spokesman said he had no idea what the subject matter was or how the series came to be named.

Dylan recently told British music magazine Mojo that he has always drawn and painted "but up until recently, nobody's taken an interest. There's never been any support for it ... Now I'm scrambling to keep up (with demand)."

He said he draws things that interest him and then he paints them.

"I can take a bowl of fruit and turn it into a life-and-death drama," he said. "Women are power figures so I depict them that way."

Dylan painted the cover of his 1970 album "Self Portrait." His drawings are also included in his books "Writings and Drawings" and "Lyrics 1962-1985."

He is gearing up for the October 13 release of his new album, "Christmas In The Heart" and will donate all his royalties to hunger relief organizations. Earlier this year, he topped the U.S. and British album charts with his 33rd album, "Together Through Life."

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; editing by Bill Trott)