Anselm Kiefer’s Awesome “Palaces” Expansion at HangarBicocca in Milan

“Anselm Kiefer: I Sette Palazzi Celesti 2004-2015” at the Fondazione HangarBicocca in Milan is an expansion of celebrated German artist Anselm Kiefer’s permanent installation “The Seven Heavenly Palaces” which was inaugurated for the opening of HangarBicocca in 2004.

Curated by Vicente Todolí, the spectacular display combines the seven 90-tonne, 14-18 metre tall concrete “towers,” which are now open for the public to walk through, with five large-scale paintings to form a single installation entitled “The Seven Heavenly Palaces 2004-2015.”

The “Seven Heavenly Palaces” installation takes its name from the palaces described in the Sefer Hechalot or “Book of Palaces, an ancient Hebrew text describing the symbolic path of spiritual initiation for those wishing to enter into the presence of God.

The five paintings – “aipur” (2009); two works from the series “Cette obscure clarté qui tombe des étoiles” (2011); “Alchemie” (2012); and “Die deutsche Heilslinie” (2012-2013) – were made between 2009 and 2013 but are being shown for the first time.

According to the HangarBicocca, Keifer uses the language of painting in these works to reference some of the key themes already present in “The Seven Heavenly Palaces,” including man’s attempt to ascend to the divine through the great architectural constructions of the past.

“They also add a number of considerations that are key to the artist’s poetic vision, including the relationship between man and nature, and references to the history of ideas and of Western philosophy,” the HangarBicocca states.

“The Seven Heavenly Palaces 2004-2015” is a special project that launches the new three-year program of HangarBicocca, running till 2018 and curated by the Artistic Director Vicente Todolí.

Video by HangarBicocca. Courtesy HangarBicocca