Anselm Kiefer has revealed a glimpse of Sag mir wo die Blumen sind, a monumental 78-foot-long painting that will debut in 2025 as part of a landmark exhibition in Amsterdam. The event marks the first-ever collaboration between the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum.
Crafted with materials such as oil, acrylic, straw, dried flowers, and gold leaf, the painting will envelop the Stedelijk Museum’s staircase, delving into themes of memory, transience, and humanity’s bond with nature. Alongside this, Kiefer will present Steigend, steigend, sinke nieder (“Rising, rising, sinking down”), a site-specific installation featuring lead and photographs.
Rein Wolfs, director of the Stedelijk, described the exhibition as “an immersive experience.” The Van Gogh Museum will complement the display with 25 of Kiefer’s works paired alongside seven Van Gogh masterpieces, including Wheatfield with Crows (1890), highlighting Kiefer’s deep connection to the Dutch artist.
The exhibition title, translating to Tell Me Where the Flowers Are, nods to Van Gogh’s floral works and Pete Seeger’s protest song, with flower petals symbolizing life’s cyclical nature. Following its Amsterdam debut, the exhibition will travel to London’s Royal Academy of Arts in June 2025.
An installation view at his studio in Croissy, France
Courtesy of ANSELM KIEFER, photography by NINA SLAVCHEV
