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What do you want to know: Last week, “Anselm Kiefer: The Golden Age» open to Villepin gallery in Hong Kong, presenting the recent work of the German painter and sculptor. Kiefer is widely recognized both for the conceptual facets of his work, frequently addressing widespread and often provocative historical and cultural issues, as well as his penchant for using typically rare materials in his paintings, such as shellac, charcoal and ash. “Golden Age” features works dated between 2020 and 2022, and the show is complemented by guided tours, salon talks and educational materials, and is on view until September 2023. The show’s title is taken from mythology , especially from Greek mythology. , and the notion that has historically held that ancient Greece was situated at the height of civilization. The theme of the exhibition is in line with Kiefer’s interest in the work of philosopher and critic Ernst Bloch, and his writings on ideas around a golden age as a utopian ideal – and its relevance to the future. The works in the exhibition use these concepts as a starting point for envisioning a utopian ideal through artistic means.
Why we love it: Kiefer evokes ideas of utopian ideals through his otherworldly, often gilded designs. Mountain ranges emerge from fields of shimmering gold leaf in works such as For G. Segantini (2022) and Teocuitlatl (2021-2022), evoking a kind of mirage, or fantasy, the middle of a speculative and imaginary “golden age”. The scale of the works provides viewers with an immersive visual landscape that changes with the reflection of light, in many ways a visual metaphor for both illusory and shifting understandings of what constitutes the historical idea of an age of gold as well as the imaginations of a future. Golden age. In work Im Frühtau zu Berge (2021-2022), the sense of place is presented as something much more nebulous and abstract. Set in a sea of gold, a bicycle dangles at the edge of what, from the title, could be understood to be a mountain ridge. Fanciful and poetic, the abstract compositional elements suggest a myriad of futures and interpretable possibilities, while the bicycle, a recurring motif in the exhibition, alludes to the cyclicality of time and cultural cycles.
According to the Gallery:We are very pleased to present the most recent works of Anselm Kiefer to Villepin, one of the greatest contemporary artists practicing today. It is both an honor and a privilege to bring this seismic artist’s powerful vision to Hong Kong audiences, and we invite everyone to come to the gallery to experience Kiefer’s art in person.
On a personal level, it gives me great joy to exhibit Kiefer’s work for the first time in our gallery. I have admired the artist for a long time and share a long-standing friendship with him, having had the chance to visit his studio near Paris and his foundation in Barjac, in the south of France, on several occasions.
Kiefer’s latest body of work, “Golden Age”, responds to ancient myths, following his constant desire to inspire new perspectives of our modern world and the challenges we face today. I think now is the perfect time to enjoy his art in Hong Kong as the border reopens and everyone is looking ahead. – Arthur de Villepin, president and co-founder of Villepin
See the works presented and the interior of the exhibition below.
Anselme Kiefer, For G. Segantini – die bösen Mütter (2022). Photo: Georges Poncet. Courtesy of the artist and Villepin, Hong Kong.
Anselme Kiefer, To be titled (2020-22). Photo: Georges Poncet. Courtesy of the artist and Villepin, Hong Kong.
Installation view of “Anselm Kiefer: The Golden Age” (2023). Courtesy of Villepin, Hong Kong.
Installation view of Anselm Kiefer, Teocuitlatl (2021–22). Courtesy of the artist and Villepin, Hong Kong.
Installation view by Anselm Kiefer, Alkahest (2021–22). Courtesy of the artist and Villepin, Hong Kong.
“Anselm Kiefer: The Golden Ageis on view in Villepin, Hong Kong, until September 2023.
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