Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

German artist Anselm Kiefer is one of the most important and controversial artists of the post-world war II art scene. Begining with the work he showed at the 1980 Venice Biennale, he has interpreted the great political and cultural issues at the heart of the modern European sensibility, through media as diverse as painting, photography, artist's books, installations, and sculpture. Kiefer's wildly expressive work receives all the space and fluent interpretation it demands in this superb high-quality production. The book's approximately 300 full-color images trace Kiefer's creative evolution and present his great themes in their full scope and power. The author interprets Kiefer's art as a site where distinctions between modern and postmodern senses of representation, history, cosmology, and nature become thematic. He addresses individual works and gives the historical, biographical, art-critical, and philosophical setting for each.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Renowned art historian and curator Celant (Guggenheim Museum) presents an exhaustive retrospective catalog (1969-2006) of the work of prominent and controversial German artist Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945). Not only exhaustive but also exhausting at over ten pounds, this is one heavy book. Anselm Kiefer reflects the artist's prodigious, ambitious, and somewhat ambiguous oeuvre. Whether works on paper, paintings, or increasingly complex sculptural installations, Kiefer's art deals with intense aspects of human experience and historical memory, including his native country's fascist past. Sumptuous reproductions abound (300 full color), elucidating the artwork's haptic, collaged surfaces. After taking in Celant's dense introductory essay (which could use paragraph breaks) and the book's 11 interviews, one may wonder what more could--or should--be said, especially considering previous monographs. With an extensive bibliography; owing to the prohibitive price, this is recommended solely for art collections.--Prudence Peiffer, Washington, DC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

In the past ten years, there have been perhaps more fine books published on the work of Anselm Kiefer than on any other contemporary artist. Daniel Arasse's Anselm Keifer (CH, May'02, 39-4987) has been the gold standard for Kiefer bibliophiles, but at more than $150, its market is limited to the most devoted scholars. Organized by Michael Auping, Anselm Kiefer: Heaven and Earth (CH, Feb'06, 43-3207) is a beautifully produced value edition at $40. Now, Celant presents a middle ground. The production values of the book are superb, the photography is a work of art on its own terms, and the interviews with Kiefer make substantial philosophical points. This is a work that every serious art library should have on its shelves. Be sure the shelf is strong, though: the book weighs about 10 pounds! Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels. S. Skaggs University of Louisville

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Germano Celant is an art historian and senior curator for Contemporary Art at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. He is contributing editor to ArtForum and Interview . He is internationally acclaimed for his work on "Arte Povera".