Voorlinden presents Anselm Kiefer (1945), one of the most important artists of our time. His monumental works will be on display in the museum’s garden room. With his distinctive visual language and layered references to history, mythology and literature, Kiefer has built a four-decade oeuvre of epic proportions. Voorlinden shows several iconic works from its own collection, featuring Kiefer’s typical visual complexity and wealth of materials. When autumn enters the Piet Oudolf garden, the autumn leaves in the poetic work Im Herbst dreht sich die Erde etwas schneller (0.06 sec) also fall. This recent work will be shown to the Dutch public for the first time.

The German artist was born in the final phase of the Second World War. His life began when the war came to an end. This historical tipping point is the thread that runs through his life. Kiefer was one of the first German artists to examine recent history in the late 1960s. Nevertheless, his work transcends this theme and he is particularly fascinated by time and the continuity of history. With oil paint, earth, lead, photography, woodcuts, sand, hay and other natural materials, Kiefer interweaves complex historical events, Germanic mythology, alchemy and poetry into works that blow us away and appeal to our collective memory.

“Art is longing. You never arrive, but you keep going in the hope that you will.” – Anselm Kiefer