Kiefer-Rodin

Musée Rodin’s exhibition Kiefer-Rodin (on view until October 22, 2017) is one of the major events organised in France to commemorate the death centenary of sculptor Auguste Rodin. This stunning show is the result of painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer’s exploration of Rodin’s creative process, particularly his book Les Cathédrales de France (The Cathedrals of France) published in 1914 and his manner of fragmenting, reconsidering and reusing his work. The exhibition features three monumental canvases (The Cathedrals of France) with layers of oil, acrylic, emulsion and shellac piled up on them and sheets of lead (one of the artist’s preferred materials to work with) that you could stare at for hours. There are also his glass vitrines, where he combined relics of his own life with different objects and materials, crude and beautiful at the same time. Then, there are Kiefer’s books, almost sculptures, with free-flowing female nudes on stacks of cardboard.