Anselm Kiefer

Exhibition of Anselm Kiefer's vitrines, with books, objects and installations, and a cycle of paintings on the English scholar and poet Robert Fludd, brought together under the title Opus Magnum.

Anselm Kiefer reflects in his work on what it means to be an avant-garde artist in the twentieth century. His work, ironic and provocative in character, accepts the figure of the modern artist positioned on the margins of society and questions history, rules, taboos, myths and ideas about art. A large part of his output draws on Germanic themes and symbols, opens emotional wounds and emphasises cultural losses as a way of exploring his own heritage and identity. For the artist, art can foster a dialogue between history and civilisations, as an antidote to the horror of human history.

His vitrines function as condensed symbols that bring together opposites: they are transparent and dense, light and heavy, and the objects they contain are at once recognisable and enigmatic. Kiefer uses materials such as lead, cement, glass, stones, wire, pieces of fabric, tree roots or burnt books, associated with memory, renewal, hope and loss. These pieces transform beliefs and spiritual ideas into objects that invite interpretation.

The exhibition presents a selection of these vitrines, with books, objects and installations, in the Sala d'Exposicions in Barcelona, a space that hosts exhibitions and cultural activities. It brings together works from the Grothe collection and other private European collections. The ensemble is completed by a cycle of paintings devoted to Robert Fludd, and it constitutes the artist's first solo exhibition in Spain focused exclusively on this body of work, entitled Opus Magnum.