Anselm Kiefer für Paul Celan, 2014–2021
Emulsion, acrylic, oil, shellac, porcelain, metal wire, coal, and chalk on canvas
280 x 380 cm (110.24 x 149.61 in)
Throughout his extensive œuvre, German artist Anselm Kiefer is concerned with history and cultural memory, their preservation and erosion. Born as the Second World War was drawing to a close, the artist grew up in a time during which many in Germany were struggling to face the horrors of the conflict and acknowledge the atrocities perpetrated in the Holocaust. His works emerge from these years of silence, like monuments to the trauma of a generation, their worn and weathered appearance sedimenting them in the cultural landscape of post-war Europe.
