Anselm Kiefer Solo Exhibition Held in Kyoto’s Nijo Castle; Post-WWII German Master Presents ‘Solaris’

By Tatsuya Imaoka / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

17:45 JST, June 28, 2025

Why has humanity continuously repeated tragedies? This question came to mind while viewing a solo exhibition of artworks by German artist Anselm Kiefer at Nijo Castle in Kyoto.

The exhibition, which ended Sunday at the World Heritage site, featured selected works of the 80-year-old master, who represents a post-World War II artists’ circle in the country. Kiefer is known for massive works that touch on themes related to mythology, religion and science.

The artist, born in 1945, overlayed Japanese and Western histories and senses of beauty, and posed this deep question in a world where war has continued unabated.

This was Kiefer’s first large-scale exhibition in Japan in about 30 years. The items on display comprised 33 artworks, mainly newer ones, including paintings and sculptures.

The first work that greeted visitors was an about 9-meter-tall lead sculpture titled “Ra,” which was placed outdoors.

As if resisting the unescapable force of gravity, a pallet with wings extending widely demonstrates the power of imagination, making visitors wonder if the work may be able to take flight.

Most of the artworks were displayed inside dimly lit buildings and illuminated only by natural light.

The castle is famous for its kinpeki-shohekiga — screen or wall paintings mainly using gold and blue colors — which was invented by the Kano school of artists.

The traditional space suited Kiefer’s works painted using gold colors, fascinating visitors.

Entering the spacious Daidokoro area of the castle’s Ninomaru-goten Palace, visitors saw a painting symbolizing the exhibition. The work is about 4 meters high and about 10 meters wide and titled “For Octavio Paz.”

The large-scale painting harshly depicts scorched earth immediately after an atomic bombing. Soft light depicted in the work accentuates the fury of a person at the center of the scene.

In contrast, works in the Okiyodokoro area showed a marvelous expanding scene that looks like a golden wheat field. The installation was titled “Morgenthau Plan.”

The installation related to a plan that the United States devised during World War II to make Germany a country without advanced industries after the war. The work overlayed images of rich natural environments, loss in the war and the postwar occupation. The overlaid images depicted Germany’s complicated postwar history.

Kiefer was born in a German city that had been devastated and has led a modern art movement with his harsh painting style. His techniques include using sand, lead and straw in layers on a canvas and even burning them.

What has always stuck with Kiefer is his willingness to face up to the dark history of his country and confront the hardships of mankind.

The subhead of the exhibition was “Solaris,” which means “related to the sun.”

The works looked at the world 80 years after the war and radiated the strength to illuminate the next generation.