Anselm Kiefer - 2011 Guggenheim International Gala Contemporary Art Benefit Auction for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation New York Monday, November 7, 2011 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris – Salzburg

  • Catalogue Essay

    The term Alkahest signifies that there is a solution which can dilute any substance. This idea comes from the alchemists. Dilution is of course something very important for me. I often lay pictures on the floor and pour water over them, or pour on water that has paint dissolved in it. So I’m exposing them to dilution. [...] Water has to do with erosion. Whole mountains, and sediments that have accumulated over millions of years, are carried down to the sea by water. Water contributes to the cycle. Rock that looks as though it will last for ever is dissolved, crushed to sand and mud.Anselm Kiefer, 2009

    (Anselm, Kiefer. Alkahest, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg 2011.)

15

Alkahest

2011
oil, emulsion, acrylic, shellac, charcoal, lead object on photograph on cardboard
40 1/8 x 64 7/8 in (101.9 x 164.8 cm)
Titled “Alkahest” on the lead element.

Estimate
$200,000 - 300,000 

2011 Guggenheim International Gala Contemporary Art Benefit Auction for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation

7 November 2011
New York