Bob Dylan's 'Retrospectrum' Exhibition Opens at MAXXI in Rome

Bob Dylan's multifaceted visual art practice is showcased in the exhibition 'Retrospectrum' at the MAXXI museum in Rome, running until April 30. Curated by Shai Batel, the show features over 100 works including paintings, watercolors, ink and graphite drawings, metal sculptures, and videos, spanning from the early 2000s to the present. Dylan, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, presents his observations of American landscapes—motels, diners, abandoned amusement parks, and highways like Route 61—as well as scenes from his tours across America, Europe, and Asia. The exhibition is divided into eight thematic sections, including 'The Drawn Blank,' 'Ironworks,' 'Revisionist,' 'Deep Focus,' and 'Mondo Scripto.' In 'Mondo Scripto,' Dylan pairs handwritten lyrics of his famous songs with graphite drawings. The show also includes the original 1965 video for 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' and 64 signs with rewritten lyrics from 2018, which will enter the MAXXI's permanent collection. Dylan's inspiration draws from literary and artistic sources like Hemingway and Hopper, as well as personal memories from his childhood in Minnesota's mining region. The exhibition debuted in Shanghai in 2019 and traveled to Miami in 2021 before arriving in Rome.