Anselm Kiefer - Contemporary Art Part I New York Monday, November 7, 2011 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris
    Miriam Shiell Fine Art, Toronto

  • Catalogue Essay

    Anselm Kiefer has captivated international audiences with his large-scale, thought-provoking, and majestic tableaus for over thirty years. Having grown up in post-war Germany, Kiefer’s works reflect his existential fascination with the history of humanity, its potential for devastation and destruction, and its capacity for transcendence and rebirth. Not only does TBC (dies florum et palmorum), 2005, highlight Kiefer’s affinity for intellectual critical analysis, this monumental work is a visual masterpiece. With its intentionally thick, slathered paint, cracking soil, and white palm leaf, it features Kiefer’s original use of three-dimensionality and organic objects in creating hybrid works of art, uniquely situated somewhere between painting and sculpture.

    The mysterious and symbolic qualities of TBC (dies florum et palmorum), 2005, elicit a visceral response among its viewership, thus successfully engaging
    the collective consciousness of those in its presence. In this particular work, Kiefer invokes the palm branch from Christian iconography, which served as a
    symbol of spiritual victory over enemies of the soul, and later came to represent martyrdom. Like the dried palm leaf, TBC (dies florum et palmorum) (Days of
    Flowers and Palms), 2005, draws attention to the fragility of the sacred in the face of a world where sacrilege is commonplace. And, of equal importance,
    the piece expresses Kiefer’s belief in the transformative power of art, and its ability to enrich the endless human quest for meaning and rebirth: “I’m not
    interested in being saved. I’m interested in reconstructing symbols. It’s about connecting with an older knowledge and trying to discover continuities in why
    we search for heaven.” (Anselm Kiefer quoted in M. Auping, Anselm Kiefer: Heaven and Earth, Munich: London, Prestel Publishing: 2005).

39

TBC (dies florum et palmorum)

2005
oil paint, emulsion, shellac, palm leaf, and soil on board, in stainless steel frame
75 1/8 x 55 1/2 x 4 in. (190.8 x 141 x 10.2 cm)
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.

Estimate
$400,000 - 600,000 

Sold for $422,500

Contemporary Art Part I

7 November 2011
New York