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Amsterdam Hosts Groundbreaking Kiefer Exhibition in 2025

Writer's picture: Fernanda MatsuokaFernanda Matsuoka
Anselm Kiefer, 'Innenraum' , Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Anselm Kiefer, 'Innenraum' , Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

From March 7 to June 9, 2025, Amsterdam will host an artistic event of unparalleled ambition: Anselm Kiefer — Sag mir wo die Blumen sind. For the first time, the Stedelijk Museum and the Van Gogh Museum will collaborate to present an expansive dual-venue exposition showcasing 25 works by the German artist, including paintings, installations, early drawings, and films. Anchored by Kiefer’s monumental new installation, this exhibition examines themes of memory, loss, and artistic inspiration while paying homage to the enduring influence of Vincent van Gogh.



Anselm Kiefer, 'De sterrennacht' (2019) Copyright: Anselm Kiefer. Photo: Georges Poncet
Anselm Kiefer, 'De sterrennacht' (2019) Copyright: Anselm Kiefer. Photo: Georges Poncet

A Monumental Artistic Dialogue

Born in 1945 in postwar Germany, Anselm Kiefer has built a career confronting the weight of history. His work merges mythology, philosophy, and literature with visceral, tactile media—lead, clay, gold, and dried flowers—to probe humanity’s capacity for destruction and renewal. For Kiefer, art is an act of reckoning with the past and reimagining the future.

Kiefer’s connection to Van Gogh has been a consistent thread in his work. In 1963, the artist retraced Van Gogh’s journey through the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, finding inspiration in Van Gogh’s depictions of nature’s cycles and his relentless pursuit of meaning in human existence. This relationship forms the core of the Van Gogh Museum’s contribution to the exhibition, where seven Van Gogh masterpieces, including Wheatfield with Crows (1890), are paired with Kiefer’s monumental works to reveal parallels in their explorations of life, death, and the sublime.



Two Venues, Two Perspectives

The Stedelijk Museum and the Van Gogh Museum each bring distinct narratives to this exhibition, creating a multifaceted portrait of Kiefer’s oeuvre.


  • At the Stedelijk Museum: Visitors will encounter two major new spatial installations by Kiefer, including the titular Sag mir wo die Blumen sind, an immersive painting installation over 24 meters long. Combining paint, clay, dried rose petals, gold, and military uniforms, the piece envelops the museum’s historic staircase, embodying the cycle of life and death. The second installation, Steigend, steigend, sinke nieder, integrates photographs and lead—Kiefer’s signature material—to reflect on the burden of human history. The Stedelijk’s presentation also includes iconic works from its collection, such as Innenraum (1981), and rarely screened films like Noch ist Polen nicht verloren (1989), made in Warsaw shortly before the fall of the Iron Curtain.


  • At the Van Gogh Museum: This part of the exposition focuses on the interplay between Van Gogh’s legacy and Kiefer’s practice. Early drawings by Kiefer are exhibited alongside recent landscapes and iconic works such as De sterrennacht (2019), creating a dialogue with Van Gogh’s emotionally charged paintings. Director Emilie Gordenker describes Kiefer’s connection to Van Gogh as both literal and poetic, evident in his sunflowers and compositions that echo Van Gogh’s meditative landscapes.


Sag mir wo die Blumen sind: A Lament and a Reflection

The exhibition’s title, Sag mir wo die Blumen sind (Where Have All the Flowers Gone), draws from Pete Seeger’s 1955 anti-war song, popularized by Marlene Dietrich in the 1960s. In Kiefer’s hands, the phrase becomes a meditation on the human condition—how we perpetuate cycles of destruction and renewal while seeking meaning in the remnants.

Flowers appear as a recurring motif, referencing Van Gogh’s Sunflowers (1889) and Kiefer’s recent landscapes, many of which will be unveiled for the first time. The installations at the Stedelijk elevate these themes, weaving historical memory and personal reckoning into immersive environments that demand introspection.


Why This Exposition Matters

This landmark exposition is more than a showcase of Anselm Kiefer’s work—it’s a dialogue between two artistic titans and a reflection on art’s role in grappling with humanity’s fraught legacy. Kiefer’s ability to bridge the deeply personal and the universally significant is unmatched, and this dual-venue presentation highlights both his historical significance and his ongoing relevance.


The collaboration between the Stedelijk and Van Gogh Museums underscores Amsterdam’s role as a global cultural hub, bringing together two institutions that have played pivotal roles in Kiefer’s career. For audiences, this is a rare opportunity to experience the artist’s monumental work in a setting that magnifies its emotional and intellectual impact.


Plan Your Visit

With a single ticket granting access to both museums, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in this extraordinary artistic journey. Whether you’re drawn to Van Gogh’s vivid humanity or Kiefer’s brooding exploration of history, Sag mir wo die Blumen sind promises to be one of the defining cultural events of 2025.


Anselm Kiefer — Sag mir wo die Blumen sind

March 7 – June 9, 2025

For details and tickets, visit Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Van Gogh Museum. Don’t miss this opportunity to witness the work of an artist who transforms history into a canvas and art into an act of collective memory.

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