Sternenfall

The starry sky motif present in Anselm Kiefer’s work since the 1980s is the protagonist in the Falling Stars cycle to which Sternenfall belongs. The German artist’s sky is an archive in which every star is identified by the alphanumerical code used by NASA to classify celestial bodies. Lines drawn to link points trace imaginary constellations. A number of codes transcribed on glass plaques are found on the floor, under the canvas: these are the fallen starts that establish a dialogue between sky and earth. The work also alludes to German history and in particular the Holocaust. The numbers on the canvas recall those tattooed on the arms of the Jew imprisoned in the Nazi camps. Historical memory, a key concept in Kiefer’s work, is entwined with the cosmic theme in an indissoluble whole.