Anselm Kiefer in Amsterdam 9 European Exhibitions Worth Traveling for in 2025
By Emily LaBarge
“Sag mir wo die Blumen sind” implores the poetic title of a sprawling Anselm Kiefer exhibition that will span two of Amsterdam’s most prestigious institutions: the Stedelijk Museum and the Van Gogh Museum (March 7 through June 9). The show takes its title from the German version of Pete Seeger’s antiwar folk ballad, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” — made popular by Marlene Dietrich at a UNICEF gala in 1962 — and presents work old and new by Kiefer, whose oeuvre reckons with memory, ruins, history, war, mythology and landscape.
A new, 80-foot site-specific installation of the same name will occupy the grand staircase of the Stedelijk, while its galleries present new and never-before-seen Kiefer works from the museum’s impressive collection alongside other highlights from the artist’s 60-year career. A two-minute walk away, the Van Gogh Museum will be focusing on Kiefer’s relationship with the Dutch painter van Gogh’s life and art, juxtaposing works by the two, including their many blooming offerings: sunflowers and more sunflowers, representing life and death, prospering and decay, with art as the eternal bridge between the two.
