LIVE from the NYPL | Anselm Kiefer with Paul Holdengräber: Art Will Survive Its Ruins

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“I would say that there is no definition of art. The minute we attempt one, it disintegrates, much as art oscillates constantly between loss and rebirth. Art is never where we expect to find it or hope to grasp it. To paraphrase the Gospel According to John, I would say: ‘Where art is, we cannot reach.’” – Anselm Kiefer

“My fear,” Anselm Kiefer once wrote, “is that the beauty art produces will dissolve into ashes when it is brought to the level of speech.” Nevertheless, he will be making a rare public appearance at the New York Public Library this spring. In a wide-ranging conversation with Paul Holdengräber, Kiefer will discuss his watercolors, paintings, and artist books–soon to be displayed at Gagosian’s 21st Street gallery in New York–as well as the questions, fears, and fascinations that underlie his body of work.