Anselm Kiefer - new solo show at Gagosian New York
Published on 08/26/2026 at 12:13 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael MĂĽller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Anselm Kiefer extends his long engagement with myth and material into a fresh New York chapter. The exhibition Seal My Ears Shut and I Shall Hear You Still at Gagosian’s 541 West 24th Street space introduces a new group of paintings driven by literary and alchemical references, as the gallery announcement notes. Gagosian exhibition page
The solo show at Gagosian
At Gagosian New York, Kiefer’s new works orbit around the title Seal My Ears Shut and I Shall Hear You Still, drawn from a verse by Rainer Maria Rilke that also appears inscribed on one of the canvases. The gallery describes the group as advancing his exploration of feminine archetypes and landscape as symbolic form. Gagosian exhibition page
Across the series, Kiefer layers oil, acrylic, emulsion, shellac, collaged canvas, gold leaf and a deep green sediment formed through electrolysis, underscoring his sustained interest in alchemy as process. One work, Für R.M.R. wirf mir die Ohren zu: ich kann dich hören (For R.M.R. seal my ears shut and I shall hear you still, 2023-25), shows a face emerging from a boulder’s surface while Rilke’s verse runs across the image. Gagosian exhibition page
Institutional context in 2026
The New York exhibition lands in a year of dense institutional activity for Kiefer. In Milan, Palazzo Reale hosts Le Alchimiste in the Sala delle Cariatidi, presenting over forty large-scale canvases that foreground female figures connected to the history of scientific thought, as White Cube reports. White Cube museum exhibition notice
That Milan show forms part of the cultural program for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games and links Kiefer to an Olympic-scale public audience. Parallel to Milan, the Centro de Arte Hortensia Herrero in Valencia stages a monographic presentation spanning several galleries of the former Valeriola Palace, with large works such as Böse Blumen, Der Tod und das Mädchen and Walhalla drawn from the Hortensia Herrero Collection. White Cube Valencia announcement
All news and background on Anselm Kiefer
For further coverage of Anselm Kiefer’s exhibitions, museum shows and market developments, the AD HOC NEWS archive offers additional reports and analyses.
The work core and materials
Kiefer’s practice has long intertwined painting, sculpture, installation and photography, often on monumental scales that demand halls like Palazzo Reale’s Sala delle Cariatidi or Hortensia Herrero’s multi-gallery palace setting. In New York he continues to fuse thick strata of paint with found materials that carry history, from lead to plant matter.
Electrolysis sediment, gold leaf and collaged canvas in the Gagosian works extend this material vocabulary into a technically explicit alchemical register. Literary sources, including Rilke’s Book of Hours, classical myth and German Romantic painting, inform the images and anchor them in a line of reflection on memory, spiritual searching and landscape as psychic space.
Where Anselm Kiefer stands now
Against this backdrop, Anselm Kiefer’s position is defined by concurrent major museum exhibitions in Milan and Valencia alongside the new Gagosian New York presentation, with no additional publicly announced opening date within the immediate 30-day window.
Key facts on Anselm Kiefer
- Artist: Anselm Kiefer
- Medium / Genre: Painting, sculpture and installation with conceptual, history-focused approach
- Born: 1945, Donaueschingen, Germany
- Place(s) of practice: Studio bases including La Ribaute near Barjac in France and work realized for institutions across Europe and the United States
- Active since: Late 1960s, with early works from 1969-1982 surveyed in museum exhibitions
- Key work groups: Walhalla, Böse Blumen, Der Tod und das Mädchen, large-scale alchemical canvases related to Le Alchimiste
- Current/last exhibition: Le Alchimiste, Palazzo Reale, Milan, 7 February-26 September 2026
- Major collections: Works in major public collections including institutions in London, New York, Paris and Berlin, as reflected in recent survey shows and collection loans
- Awards: Recipient of high-profile international honors over past decades, reflecting his status in postwar and contemporary art discourse
- Next date: No additional public exhibition or award date within the immediate 30-day window beyond the ongoing Milan and Valencia museum shows
Frequently asked questions about Anselm Kiefer
Where can Anselm Kiefer’s work be seen in 2026?
In 2026, major exhibitions include Le Alchimiste at Palazzo Reale in Milan and a monographic show at Centro de Arte Hortensia Herrero in Valencia, both presenting large-scale canvases and installations. These run across much of the year and anchor his institutional presence.
What defines the new works at Gagosian New York?
The Gagosian New York exhibition presents paintings that combine oil, acrylic, emulsion, shellac, collaged canvas, gold leaf and electrolysis sediment, drawing on Rilke’s poetry, Caspar David Friedrich and mythological female figures to connect landscape with allegory.
How does Anselm Kiefer address alchemy in his art?
Alchemy appears both as metaphor and as process, from the use of electrolysis to generate verdigris sediment to thematic focus on transformation, regeneration and the hidden histories of women linked to early scientific thought in projects like Le Alchimiste.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
