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The German artist Anselm Kiefer turns 80 this 12 months and a number of other reveals will mark the event. A survey of early works on the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford this month might be adopted in March by an exhibition unfold throughout the Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The previous will take a look at the affect of Vincent van Gogh on Kiefer’s work, whereas the latter will debut a brand new 24m-long set up.
Beneath, the Van Gogh Museum director Emilie Gordenker and her fellow curator Edwin Becker have joined forces with the Stedelijk curator Leontine Coelewij to pick 5 key books to assist us perceive extra about Kiefer and his work.
Anselm Kiefer: Questi Scritti, Quando Verranno Bruciati, Daranno Finalmente Un Po’ Di Luce (2022), edited by Gabriella Belli and Janne Sirén
“The monumental set up, which supplies the title to the exhibition on the Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum, displays the thought of a Gesamtkunstwerk. This concept has additionally been powerfully expressed by Kiefer’s sequence produced specifically for the Palazzo Ducale in 2022 [during the Venice Biennale]. [This book illustrates] Kiefer’s spectacular enterprise, which began with a citation from the thinker Andrea Emo: ‘These writings, when burned, will lastly solid a bit mild’.”
Within the Starting: Anselm Kiefer & Images (2024) by Jean de Loisy, Sebastien Delot, Heiner Bastian and Christian Weikop
“The usage of images as each apply and supply materials is a little-known side of Kiefer’s artwork that has performed a central function all through his profession. As his artistry advanced, Kiefer continued to covet images because the ‘sainted assistant’ for its capability to assist in capturing reminiscence. Images is on the core of Kiefer’s course of and has all the time been current within the monumental items he has exhibited all through his prolific profession.”
Anselm Kiefer (2014) by Richard Davey, Kathleen Soriano and Christian Weikop
“The official catalogue to accompany Kiefer’s 2014 retrospective on the Royal Academy of Arts, that includes sculpture, work and monumental installations that span his 40-year profession. {The catalogue} contains in-depth essays exploring the themes of historical past, faith and mythology in Kiefer’s work, in addition to quite a few studio pictures taken by the artist himself.”
Anselm Kiefer Studios (2013) by Danièle Cohn
“Kiefer has labored in many alternative studios, in Karlsruhe, Odenbach, Rome, Barjac and Croissy-Beaubourg. On this superbly illustrated quantity, we are able to see how his studio shouldn’t be solely the house the place he develops monumental works, but additionally the bodily illustration of his thoughts and reminiscence.”
Chosen Poems and Prose of Paul Celan (2002) by Paul Celan (trans. John Felstiner)
“At college, in 1958, Kiefer encountered the poetry of Paul Celan, a Romanian-born, German-speaking Jewish poet whose work profoundly resonated with him. Celan’s work has been a continuing presence in Kiefer’s work since his adolescence. This dialogue has intensified lately, notably in 2020 throughout the lockdown. This quantity contains youthful lyrics, unpublished poems and prose.”
• Anselm Kiefer: Early Works, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 14 February-15 June
• Anselm Kiefer: The place Have All of the Flowers Gone, Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 7 March-9 June
• Kiefer/Van Gogh, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 28 June-26 October
