Kiefer was invited by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia (MUVE), to present a site-specific installation of paintings that responds to one of the most important spaces in the Palazzo Ducale and to the history of Venice. The exhibition was opened on 26 March 2022 and will run until 29 October 2022.
“It sometimes happens that there is a convergence between past and present moments, and as they come together one experiences something of that stillness in the hollow of a wave about to break. Originating in the past but pertaining at bottom to something more than the past, such moments belong as much to the present as to the past, and what they generate is of the utmost importance.” Anselm Kiefer
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Photo: Georges Poncet
Courtesy Gagosian and Fondazione Musei Civici Venezia
The Palazzo Ducale has served as a backdrop to generations of artists including Giovanni Bellini, Vittore Carpaccio, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto and many others. The monumental space of the Sala dello Scrutinio was the venue for the elections of the Doge and its walls are richly decorated with paintings celebrating the power of the Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia.
Philosophical and literary references have always been central to an understanding of Anselm Kiefer’s work. The exhibition takes its title, Anselm Kiefer Questi scritti, quando verranno bruciati, daranno finalmente un po’ di luce (Andrea Emo) (loosely translated as These writings, when burned, will finally cast a little light), from the writings of the Venetian philosopher Andrea Emo (1901-1983). Kiefer first encountered Emo’s work six years ago and his artistic method has striking parallels with Emo’s philosophical thought.
Photo: Georges Poncet
Courtesy Gagosian and Fondazione Musei Civici Venezia
In the installation in Palazzo Ducale Anselm Kiefer also reflects upon Venice’s unique position between north and south and the interplay of the Orient with the Occident. He sees equally meaningful connections between all these different cultures and the history of Venice, where the words of Goethe’s tragic play, Faust: The Second Part of the Tragedy (1832) still resonate.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue published by Marsilio containing texts by the exhibition’s curators Gabriella Belli and Janne Sirén, and other distinguished authors, including Salvatore Settis, Massimo Donà, Jean de Loisy, Elisabetta Barisoni, and a conversation between Hans Ulrich Obrist and Anselm Kiefer.
Photo: Georges Poncet
Courtesy Gagosian and Fondazione Musei Civici Venezia
Sala dello Scrutinio
Anselm Kiefer
Questi scritti, quando verranno bruciati, daranno finalmente un po’ di luce (These writings, when burned, will finally cast a little light), 2020 – 2021
Emulsion, acrylic, oil, shellac, resin, steel, zinc, lead, metal wire, gold leaf, cauterized wood, fabric, earth, straw, rope, paper, waxed paper, shoes, and charcoal on canvas
Sala della Quarantia Civil Nova
Anselm Kiefer
Questi scritti, quando verranno bruciati, daranno finalmente un po’ di luce (These writings, when burned, will finally cast a little light), 2020 – 2021
Emulsion, acrylic, oil, shellac, cauterized wood, charcoal, burnt books and metal wire on canvas, painting in 7 parts. Installation dimensions: 560 x 620 x 500 cm (220 1/2 x 244 1/8 x 196 7/8 ins)
