Kiefer’s Other Land

The German artist’s new show, ‘Next Year in Jerusalem,’ tackles the Bible, Kabbalah, and the Passover Seder

By Jeannie Rosenfeld, originally posted by TabletMag | Tweet

If geography is indeed destiny, then the German Neo-Expressionist Anselm Kiefer could be deemed the saying’s poster child. Many accounts of his work begin with the simple facts of his birth: Donauschingen, Germany; March 1945. And it’s perhaps only fitting: Over the past four decades, Kiefer has quite possibly done more than any other artist to confront his native country’s troubled history—and its implications for humanity in the post-Holocaust world.

This unwavering concern, expressed in vigorous, heavily textured mixed-media paintings, sculptures, and installations, comes to a head in a monumental exhibition at Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea through December 18th—Kiefer’s first in New York since 2002. It is a stunning presentation on many levels, not least sheer scale. As the gallery’s Georges Armaos notes, “It’s very rare that we break down the walls,” referring to the 12,000-square foot space cleared to accommodate a 100-ton installation, 15 massive landscapes, and 25 glass-and-steel vitrines, some more than 20 feet high, encasing sculptures that allude to the Bible, Kabbalah, alchemy, literature, and Greek mythology.

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