Events
Screening
Anselm
Tuesday, February 27, 2024, 5pm
UTA, Los Angeles
www.unitedtalent.com
Join Gagosian for a special screening of Anselm (2023), an immersive 3D documentary directed by Wim Wenders, which premiered at Festival de Cannes 2023. For over two years, Wenders traced Anselm Kiefer’s path from his native Germany to his former studio complex in southern France—now part of his foundation, Eschaton—weaving together pivotal moments in the artist’s life and decades-long career. This unique cinematic experience dives deep into Kiefer’s practice and reveals his inspiration and creative process, exploring his fascination with myth and history.
Production still for Anselm (2023), directed by Wim Wenders
Screening
Anselm
Tuesday, December 5, 2023, 6:30pm
Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome
www.maxxi.art
Join Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome, in collaboration with Gagosian, for a special screening of Anselm (2023), an immersive 3D documentary directed by Wim Wenders, which premiered at Festival de Cannes 2023. For over two years, Wenders traced Anselm Kiefer’s path from his native Germany to his former studio complex in southern France—now part of his foundation, Eschaton—weaving together pivotal moments in the artist’s life and decades-long career. This unique cinematic experience dives deep into Kiefer’s practice and reveals his inspiration and creative process, exploring his fascination with myth and history.
Still from Anselm (2023), directed by Wim Wenders
Design
Anselm Kiefer
Vienna State Opera Safety Curtain
November 8, 2023–June 2024
Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna
www.mip.at
Anselm Kiefer has been selected to design the twenty-sixth Eiserner Vorhang (Safety Curtain), an annual project by Vienna’s museum in progress, a nonprofit art initiative that transforms the fire protection wall between the stage and the auditorium of the Vienna State Opera into a temporary exhibition space for contemporary art. Kiefer’s work is on view for the audience before and after performances and during intermissions.
Anselm Kiefer’s safety curtain, Solaris (2023), for the 2023–24 season of the Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna. Artwork © Anselm Kiefer. Photo: Andreas Scheiblecker, courtesy museum in progress
Screening
Anselm
Tuesday, November 28, 2023, 7pm
IFC Center, New York
www.ifccenter.com
Join Gagosian and White Cube for a special screening of Anselm (2023), an immersive 3D documentary directed by Wim Wenders, which premiered at Festival de Cannes 2023. For over two years, Wenders traced Anselm Kiefer’s path from his native Germany to his former studio complex in southern France—now part of his foundation, Eschaton—weaving together pivotal moments in the artist’s life and decades-long career. This unique cinematic experience dives deep into Kiefer’s practice and reveals his inspiration and creative process, exploring his fascination with myth and history.
Production still for Anselm (2023), directed by Wim Wenders
Exhibition
Anselm Kiefer in
Les Fleurs du Mal
October 18–November 13, 2023
Maison Guerlain, Paris
stores.guerlain.com
Les Fleurs du Mal, inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s poetry collection of the same name, is the sixteenth annual show at Maison Guerlain. The exhibition, whose title translates to The Flowers of Evil, addresses the kaleidoscopic world of flowers in paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, and photographs by twenty-six contemporary artists. Work by Anselm Kiefer is included.
Anselm Kiefer, Extases féminines—Margherite Porete (Feminine Ecstasies––Margherite Porete), 2012 © Anselm Kiefer
In Conversation
Anselm Kiefer
Barry Bergdoll
Tuesday, May 30, 2023, 5–7pm
Columbia Global Center, Paris
globalcenters.columbia.edu
Anselm Kiefer will be in conversation with architectural historian and Columbia professor Barry Bergdoll exploring the role of architecture and space in the artist’s work. The exchange will address, among other works, Kiefer’s permanent installations in the Panthéon in Paris, a building about which Bergdoll has written extensively, including in the exhibition catalogue Le Panthéon: Symbole des révolutions (1989).
Anselm Kiefer’s permanent installation in the Panthéon, Paris. Artwork © Anselm Kiefer. Photo: Georges Poncet
Announcements
New Release
Anselm
Wim Wenders
Anselm (2023), an immersive 3D documentary directed by Wim Wenders, will have its US theatrical release in New York at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center on December 8, 2023, and in Los Angeles at AMC Santa Monica 7 and Laemmle Glendale on December 15, 2023. This unique cinematic experience, which premiered at Festival de Cannes earlier this year, dives deep into Anselm Kiefer’s practice and reveals his inspiration and creative process, exploring his fascination with myth and history. For over two years, Wenders traced Kiefer’s path from his native Germany to his former studio complex in southern France—now part of his foundation, Eschaton—weaving together pivotal moments in the artist’s life and decades-long career.
Production still for Anselm (2023), directed by Wim Wenders
Visit
Anselm Kiefer
La Ribaute
Over the course of several decades, Anselm Kiefer has transformed La Ribaute—his vast studio complex in the South of France, near Barjac, northwest of Avignon—into a uniquely immersive artistic environment, filling the 40-hectare site with more than seventy installations, often at a monumental scale. All are connected through an intricate network of paths, tunnels, and underground crypts. Beginning in May 2022, La Ribaute is open to the public for guided tours, enabling visitors to encounter an extensive representation of Kiefer’s work in various mediums, as well as site-specific installations by Laurie Anderson, Giovanni Anselmo, VALIE EXPORT, and Wolfgang Laib. To visit the site, purchase tickets at eschaton-foundation.com.
Anselm Kiefer, Die Himmelspaläste, 2003–18, installation view, La Ribaute, Barjac, France © Anselm Kiefer. Photo: Charles Duprat
Permanent Installation
Anselm Kiefer
Panthéon
Anselm Kiefer has produced a new series of works for the Panthéon in Paris, including a permanent installation comprising six vitrines, as well as two monumental paintings that are currently on loan. Together with a composition by the French contemporary composer Pascal Dusapin, it forms an ensemble of new works commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron. This marks the first time since 1924 that such a commission has been produced for the Panthéon; the works’ unveiling coincided with Armistice Day, November 11, 2020.
Anselm Kiefer, Qu’est-ce que nous sommes. . . , 2020, installation view, Panthéon, Paris © Anselm Kiefer. Photo: Georges Poncet
Award
Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer will be presented with the 2017 J. Paul Getty Medal to honor his extraordinary contributions to the practice, understanding, and support of the arts at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York on November 13, 2017.
Photo: Peter Rigaud
Video
Anselm Kiefer at the Royal Academy of Arts
On the occasion of Anselm Kiefer’s 2014 retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, Kiefer and Royal Academy specialists discuss his work and the trajectory of his artistic practice in preparation for his exhibition.
Video
Anselm Kiefer in Conversation with Tim Marlow
Art historian and broadcaster Tim Marlow sits down for a discussion with Anselm Kiefer, on the occasion of Kiefer’s 2014 retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, for a conversation regarding his artistic process, source material, and the effect of history and memory on his practice.
Museum Exhibitions
Opening this Week
Anselm Kiefer
Angeli caduti
March 22–July 21, 2024
Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy
www.palazzostrozzi.org
This exhibition, whose title translates to Fallen Angels, places work by Anselm Kiefer in direct dialogue with the Renaissance architecture of Palazzo Strozzi, and reflects on topics such as identity, history, and philosophy. Featuring over twenty-five works by Kiefer, both historical and recent, it also includes a new work for the museum’s courtyard and an immersive installation made in sixty canvases of various formats.
Anselm Kiefer, Engelssturz (Fall of the Angel), 2022–23 © Anselm Kiefer
On View
Dix und die Gegenwart
Through April 1, 2024
Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Germany
www.deichtorhallen.de
This exhibition, whose title translates to Dix and the Present, explores the work of Otto Dix (1891–1969) and the artist’s enduring influence. It focuses on the ostensibly apolitical work Dix created beginning in 1933, which was less aggressive than his radical and provocative paintings of the 1920s. His Nazi-era landscapes, commissioned portraits, and Christian allegories were instead subtle and subversive forms of contemporary social critique. The exhibition aims to reveal the shifting cultural and social parameters in the reception of Dix’s art, while also demonstrating how his oeuvre continues to fascinate more than forty contemporary artists. Work by Georg Baselitz, Glenn Brown, John Currin, Nan Goldin, and Anselm Kiefer is included.
Glenn Brown, The Holy Bible, 2022 © Glenn Brown
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Anselm Kiefer
La photographie au commencement
October 6, 2023–March 3, 2024
Lille Métropole Musée d’art moderne, d’art contemporain et d’art brut, Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France
www.musee-lam.fr
This retrospective, whose title translates to Photography at the Beginning, is the first to focus on Anselm Kiefer’s relationship with photography, and features over a hundred works from throughout his career. This underrecognized aspect of his practice has been central to the artist’s work from the late 1960s through the present. The exhibition examines themes and inspirations that have informed Kiefer’s approach over the last fifty years and includes paintings, books, and sculptures that complement the photographic works on display, and demonstrate their integral role within the artist’s oeuvre.
Installation view, Anselm Kiefer: La photographie au commencement, Lille Métropole Musée d’art moderne, d’art contemporain et d’art brut, Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France, October 6, 2023–March 3, 2024. Artwork © Anselm Kiefer. Photo: Nicholas Dewitte
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Anselm Kiefer
Bilderstreit
October 14, 2023–February 25, 2024
Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, Netherlands
www.voorlinden.nl
This exhibition features paintings, sculptures, artist’s books, and installations by Anselm Kiefer, many of which have never been shown before. A close collaboration between the artist and Museum Voorlinden, it highlights the breadth of Kiefer’s interests, including history, mythology, and literature.
Installation view, Anselm Kiefer: Bilderstreit, Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, Netherlands, October 14, 2023–February 25, 2024. Artwork © Anselm Kiefer. Photo: Antoine von Kaam
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Anselm Kiefer
June 9–September 3, 2023
Château La Coste, Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, France
chateau-la-coste.com
Five outdoor sculptures from Anselm Kiefer’s Frauen der Antike (Women of Antiquity) (1999–2002) and Femmes martyres (2018–19) series are on view at the Renzo Piano–designed art pavilion at Château La Coste. The bronze dresses, each bearing an attribute of a female historical or mythological figure, are situated among the pavilion’s art and architecture. Kiefer’s depiction of the Greek lyrical poetess Sappho, for example—his “monument to all the unknown women poets”—shoulders a tower of lead books.
Anselm Kiefer, Sappho, 2002–18 © Anselm Kiefer
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Jubiläumsausstellung—Special Guest Duane Hanson
October 30, 2022–January 8, 2023
Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel
www.fondationbeyeler.ch
This exhibition, whose title translates to Anniversary Exhibition—Special Guest Duane Hanson, features more than one hundred works from the foundation’s collection, from modern to contemporary art, to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the institution. Several hyperrealist sculptures by Duane Hanson enrich the presentation, opening up surprising perspectives on the exhibited artworks, architecture, staff, and visitors. Work by Francis Bacon, Georg Baselitz, Alberto Giacometti, Anselm Kiefer, Roy Lichtenstein, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Rachel Whiteread is included.
Installation view, Jubiläumsausstellung—Special Guest Duane Hanson, Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Switzerland, October 30, 2022–January 8, 2023. Artwork, front to back: © 2022 Estate of Duane Hanson/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
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Anselm Kiefer
Questi scritti, quando verranno bruciati, daranno finalmente un po’ di luce (Andrea Emo)
March 26, 2022–January 6, 2023
Palazzo Ducale, Venice
palazzoducale.visitmuve.it
This exhibition of new work by Anselm Kiefer, whose title loosely translates to These writings, when burned, will finally cast a little light, coincides with the 59th Biennale di Venezia and takes its title from the writings of the Venetian philosopher Andrea Emo (1901–1983). Kiefer was invited by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia to present a site-specific installation of paintings that respond to both the Sala dello Scrutinio—one of the most important spaces in the Palazzo Ducale—and the history of Venice.
Installation view, Anselm Kiefer Questi scritti, quando verranno bruciati, daranno finalmente un po’ di luce (Andrea Emo), Palazzo Ducale, Venice, March 26, 2022–January 6, 2023. Artwork © Anselm Kiefer. Photo: Andrea Avezzù
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Anselm Kiefer
Pour Paul Celan
December 16, 2021–January 11, 2022
Grand Palais Éphémère, Paris
www.grandpalais.fr
Fifteen years after inaugurating the Monumenta series at the Grand Palais in 2007, Anselm Kiefer is the first artist to realize a new project that engages with the entire space of the Grand Palais Éphémère. Continuing Kiefer’s work on European memory, the exhibition includes sculptures, installations, and nineteen large-scale canvases informed by the verses of the German-language poet Paul Celan.
Anselm Kiefer, Irrennäpfe, 2021 © Anselm Kiefer. Photo: Georges Poncet
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Inferno
October 15, 2021–January 9, 2022
Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome
www.scuderiequirinale.it
This exhibition celebrates the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri, and the 700th anniversary of his death by gathering together two hundred artworks that investigate modern interpretations of the infernal universe, its landscapes, and its inhabitants. Work by Anselm Kiefer, Gerhard Richter, and Auguste Rodin is included.
Installation view, Inferno, Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, October 15, 2021–January 9, 2022. Artwork © Anselm Kiefer. Photo: Alberto Novelli
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Diversity United
Contemporary European Art
June 9–October 10, 2021
Flughafen Tempelhof, Berlin
www.stiftungkunst.de
Presenting work by more than ninety established and emerging artists from thirty-four countries, Diversity United reflects the diversity and vitality of Europe’s contemporary art scene. The exhibition, which will travel to venues in Moscow and Paris, sheds light on subjects such as freedom, democracy, migration, territory, and political and personal identity. Work by Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer, Gerhard Richter, Tatiana Trouvé, and Rachel Whiteread is included.
Rachel Whiteread, Untitled, 2010, installation view, Flughafen Tempelhof, Berlin © Rachel Whiteread
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Wonderland
May 7–September 19, 2021
Albertina Modern, Vienna
www.albertina.at
Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, this exhibition features more than a hundred contemporary artworks from the Albertina’s collection organized into seven different “chapters” conceived as independent yet loosely connected “worlds.” Work by Georg Baselitz, Katharina Grosse, Anselm Kiefer, Roy Lichtenstein, Albert Oehlen, Andy Warhol, and Franz West is included.
Georg Baselitz, B. für Larry (Remix), 2006 © Georg Baselitz 2021
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Mythologies
The Beginning and End of Civilizations
April 4–October 18, 2020
ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, Denmark
www.aros.dk
This exhibition attempts to expose the mythological narratives that have sustained society through various historical epochs and had a governing influence on communities as well as on war and destruction. By highlighting specific historical points of interest, the show aims to uncover periods where old narratives are discarded and new ones emerge, often via radical ruptures. Work by Damien Hirst and Anselm Kiefer is included.
Damien Hirst, Mermaid, 2014 © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2020