WHAT? Anselm Kiefer - Finnegans Wake 

WHERE? White Cube ,144-152 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3TQ

WHEN? Now until 20th August, Free to visit 

WHY GO? To be artistically challenged.  Award winning German artist Kiefer has cemented his reputation as a radical who likes to shock with his larger than life site-specific installations.  His philosophical approach to art encourages fans to think deeply about the meaning of life. 

Kiefer has never shied away from tackling taboo subjects, from the devastation of war to the mysteries of theology. 

This mammoth new exhibition, which is inspired by his ‘take’ on James Joyce’s idiosyncratic novel Finnegans Wake, could only happen in a gallery as large as the White Cube; apparently never ending deliveries of materials used clogged up Bermondsey for weeks before it was installed.  

Expect a dark labyrinth of sculptural artworks, steel industrial racks crammed full of curious objects and enormous textured oil paintings all displayed amongst deconstructed stones,  and everything is peppered with Joyce quotes such as , “Phall if you but will, rise you must”. 

Yes, it is challenging, but also strangely mesmerising.

IN THE KNOW 

This mould breaking show completes a trilogy of Kiefer exhibitions for White Cube, each one stranger than the last.  First up in 2016, Walhalla was inspired by Norse mythology and the afterlife, then came Superstrings, Runes, The Norns, Gordian Knot in 2019, a fantasy of Greek mythology, now this major blockbuster.  Kiefer is as much a poet as he is an artist.