Anselm Kiefer Für Paul Celan
Overview
The paintings present in this exhibition are based on a series of photographs taken by Kiefer of the surrounds of Salzburg.
Yvon Lambert and Thaddaeus Ropac are pleased to announce the next solo exhibition of Anselm Kiefer for which the artist has created a body of monumental paintings and sculptures in homage of Paul Celan.
The opening of the exhibition will take place on Saturday October 21 in both Paris galleries : Yvon Lambert Paris, 108 rue Vielle du Temple and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, 7 rue Debelleyme, Paris 3ème.
From the beginning of the 1970s Anselm Kiefer has found inspiration in the exploration of the German identity, the history of his birthplace (1945), and in the deep layers of mythology, for Kiefer, the roots of man and mankind. Apart from his reading of great scientific works and his passion of Astronomy Kiefer is also fascinated by Shamanism.
From the 90s Kiefer has been passionately studying the Kabbalah which has equipped him with a plethora of symbols and myths on the origins of the world with an endless wealth of interpretation and commentary. These divine and mythological iconographic elements are infused by Kiefer by contemporary history.
The paintings present in this exhibition are based on a series of photographs taken by Kiefer of the surrounds of Salzburg. These immense landscapes of empty, harvested fields, glazed with mud or snow, captivate the viewer with their distant perspectives. The medium of paint evokes the texture of earth with an impressive presence which lacks no force. The paint is marriaged by imposing objects such as benches, boats and leaden books.
In these new paintings, Kiefer makes reference to German mythology through the poetic works of Jewish Romanian writer Paul Celan (1920-1970), who held a deep admiration of German literature and language. Anselm Kiefer dedicates this exhibition to him.
This collaborative exhibition involves ten or so giant new paintings and sculptures made in Barjac (Southern France) where Kiefer has lived and worked since 1993.
A catalogue will be published to accompany the exhibition.
Texts by Pierre Péju and Myriam Revault d'Allonnes.
