When I see a new artist I give myself a lot of time to reflect and decide whether it's art or not.
Anselm KieferWhen, at the end of the 1960s, I became interested in the Nazi era, it was a taboo subject in Germany. No one spoke about it anymore, no more in my house than anywhere else.
Anselm KieferI am interested in reconstructing symbols. It's about connecting with an older knowledge and trying to discover continuities in why we search for heaven.
Anselm KieferRuins, for me, are the beginning. With the debris, you can construct new ideas. They are symbols of a beginning.
Anselm KieferI was interested in transcendence from a very early age. I was interested in what was over there, what was behind life. So when I had my first communion I was very disappointed. I had expected something amazing and surprising and spiritual. Instead all I got was a bicycle. That wasn't what I was after at all.
Anselm Kiefer