Anselm Kiefer

Born in Germany in 1945, Anselm Kiefer is one of the most important artists of his generation. His works€"encompassing and transcending painting, sculpture, photography, and installation€"are epic in both scale and subject matter; in them, Kiefer wrestles with the darkness of German history, unearthing the taboos that underlie the collective past and interweaving them with Teutonic mythol­ogy, cosmology, and meditations on the nature of belief. This superbly designed volume, accompanying a major retrospective and including new works especially made for the exhibition, explores the themes that run through Kiefer€s oeuvre, from the complex relationship between art and spirituality to the influence of German woodcuts and folklore.