Monday, May 17, 2010

Exhibitions | Rome, Anselm Kiefer "Die Ordnung Der Engel"at Lorcan O'Neill

Regina Coeli

Anselm Kiefer opened his second solo show at the Galleria Lorcan O’Neill in Rome, Trastevere. Paintings are on display in the main gallery of via D'Orti d'Alimbert, while a sculpture and works on paper are installed in the gallery’s annex space in via della Lungara.

Quoting the gallery press release:

"Kiefer takes inspiration from sources ranging from Teutonic history, Norse mythology, and Judeo-Christian dogma to alchemy, cosmogony, and stellar astronomy. By using symbols and references from poetry and literature, he invokes humanity’s historical and spiritual past.

..........Themes of mortality, contrasted with humanity’s epic search for the secret of eternal life, are also important in Kiefer’s work. The tragic Greek mythological figure Leander and the Babylonian hero Gilgamesh figure prominently in Kiefer’s newest works on paper. Leander, who loses his life while swimming to meet his lover across the sea, stands in contrast to Gilgamesh, whose distressed reaction to his companion’s death takes the form of a quest for immortality.

Anselm Kiefer has made a new sculpture for the gallery’s annex space at the corner of via della Lungara. A celestial orb rests on the shoulders of the life-size sculptural figure, a new character in Kiefer’s group of “Women of Antiquity”. The orb, made of iron, contains gold and silver spheres that represent the sun and moon in orbit around planet Earth. Kiefer’s interest in women from ancient times highlights the remarkable strength, passion, power and dedication that females have brought to the realms of human knowledge, science and history. "

Galleria Lorcan O'Neill is located in via D'Orti D'Alimbert 1E and the exhibition will be open until September 20.

Die Ordnung der Engel