A scene from a video installation at Retrospectrum at the Today Art Museum in Beijing on Sunday [Photo by Yang Xiaoyu/chinadaily.com.cn]

Iconic musician Bob Dylan's visual art retrospective, Retrospectrum, has drawn many fans to the Today Art Museum in Beijing to pay tribute to their hero.

Spotlighting Dylan as a visual artist, a lesser-known side even to most fans, the ongoing exhibition displays more than 140 manual scripts, sketches, watercolors, paintings and ironworks the legendary US singer-songwriter and Nobel Prize laureate has created over the past five decades.

"Dylan is such a great boundary crosser! Even though I'm a devout fan of his music, I hadn't realized that he could paint until I heard about this show," gushed a young visitor to the show on Sunday.

"Dylan's paintings call to mind some of his album covers that feature his own artworks, such as The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971) and Planet Waves," said Zhang Hao, a Beijing-based rock musician who cites Dylan as a major influence.

Aside from appreciating Dylan's visual art creations, visitors can also step into the re-enacted Café Wha? in New York's Greenwich Village, where the 19-year-old from Minnesota wowed the audience with Woody Guthrie songs and embarked on a journey to global fame.

The exhibition runs until Oct 18.

If you go:

10:00-18:00, Tuesday to Sunday. Building 4, Pingod Community, No 32 Baiziwan Road, Chaoyang district, Beijing. (8610)58760600