Anselm Kiefer – Alchemy of the Book Solo Exhibition

Text/Chen Chi-Hsiang | Dates: October 20 to February 7 | Venue: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris

The proverb says, "In books there are houses of gold, and women as beautiful as jade," revealing that books hide treasures of immense diversity and richness. They record all human civilization, encompassing vast knowledge and common sense. Books serve as a crucial source of knowledge and a medium that accompanies people throughout their growth, offering profound benefits. At every stage, books accompany our development, allowing us to find solutions to reality in reference works; life's treasures lie within them. As the saying goes, "Three days without reading makes one's appearance detestable," highlighting the importance of books.

Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945) is Germany’s most representative artist of Neo-Expressionism, famous for his grand, expressive historical paintings. He studied law and literature before entering art school. From the 1960s, his work drew inspiration from striking German history, particularly the tragic memories of World War II and Jewish concentration camps. Focusing on German culture and history, he reflected on his generation’s past and situation, healing social collective consciousness. By the 1970s, Kiefer emerged from the shadow of historical tragedy, inspired by German-Jewish poets Paul Celan and Ingeborg Bachmann, and German philosopher Martin Heidegger. His deeply considered spiritual forms carry heavy mythological, religious, and cosmic volume, expressing the tragic consciousness of human existence.

Alchemy of the Book stems from the painter’s habitual recording and writing of what he sees and hears. Sketchbooks become the cornerstone of artistic inspiration. From this base, Kiefer isolates these sketchbooks, treating them as concrete artworks. Since the 1960s, his art has continuously expanded through streams of consciousness. His extra-large sketchbooks (taller than a person) are sensitive writings left by the flow of time or consciousness, recording each situation. Various materials and media—drawing paper, cardstock, photographs, lead plates, glass, etc.—are presented through sculpture and spatial installation.

Alchemy of the Book is Kiefer’s first solo exhibition centered on "books." It presents all forms and states of books from 1968 to the present. Books appear as paintings, objects, sculptures, and installations displayed on walls, shelves, cabinets, and in spatial arrangements. The diverse manifestations include written texts or sketches, drawings on photo albums, glass bookcases shaped like shelves, and books formed by typewriters.

The artist describes books thus: "They are catalogs of these forms and records of materialized time flows. For me, each book contains a flow of emotion, an ambiguous form that offers me a reference for viewing. I flip through them or perform with them... Indeed, some are like sculptures, taller than a person, so heavy that they cannot be flipped through."