Bob Dylan: Retrospectrum

“Seeing many of my works years after I completed them is a fascinating experience. I don’t really associate them with any particular time or place or state of mind, but view them as part of a long arc; a continuing of the way we go forth in the world and the way our perceptions are shaped and altered by life. One can be as profoundly influenced by events in Morretes, Brazil as the y can be by the man who sells them El País in Madrid.” –Bob Dylan, 2021

Spanning six decades, Retrospectrum showcases the development and range of Dylan’s visual practice, in tandem with that of his musical and literary canon. It features a wide selection of Bob Dylan’s artworks in an array of media, with important works loaned from private collections around the world. The artist’s diverse creations include oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings, as well as his ink, pastel and charcoal drawings and distinctive ironwork sculptures.

Among the artworks presented in Retrospectrum are some of the artist’s earliest ink sketches first published in 1973’s Writings and Drawings that illustrated and compiled Dylan's lyrics up until that time. These drawings are shown alongside works from last year's Mondo Scripto series, in which Dylan revisited some of his most renowned lyrics, hand-writing and illustrating them in his unique hand. The book also features the iconic Train Tracks paintings representing The Drawn Blank Series (2008) that first brought Bob Dylan’s visual artworks to critical and popular acclaim.

Retrospectrum also presents paintings from Dylan’s The New Orleans Series and The Asia Series (from 2012 and 2010 respectively), inspired by the artist’s own travels, as well as works from his hugely popular The Beaten Path Series (2015 – present). Among the artist’s most rarely seen pieces are his industrial ironworks, created from repurposed objects that speak to America’s industrial past.