Galleria Lorcan O’Neill presents seven new monumental paintings for a solo exhibition by the German artist Anselm Kiefer. Exploring the subject of islands, a theme which has long fascinated Kiefer, these works explore the experience of isolation, exploration, and the human desire for connection. Drawing from a diverse range of sources, including mythology and literature, Kiefer examines familiar concepts through the powerful symbolism of nature. 

The title of this group exhibition, a phrase by Paul Valery which is quoted by Italo Calvino in the notes of his Norton Lecture on "lightness," expresses the idea that to fly, to leave the bounds of gravity, to reach higher and to head for the skies is to expend effort, concentration, and volition. The exhibition features work by Martin Creed, Giorgio Griffa, Anselm Keifer, Richard Long, and Luigi Ontani.

For his second solo show at Galleria Lorcan O’Neill, Anselm Kiefer has worked with palm fronds, ferns, dresses, golden seeds, and shards of glass on surfaces to create a new series of paintings. Through an enagement with the texture of the works, Kiefer replicates ash and ruptured landscape in a way that invoke the geological dynamism of a primordial planetary surface. A site specific sculpture created for the gallery's annex adds to Kiefer's "Women of Antiquity" series, depicting a celestial orb resting upon the shoulders of a life size figure.

Meaning “My Age and Your Age and the Age of the World”, Kiefer’s first exhibition at the gallery represents a concurrent investigation of the history of mankind and of Earth. On display are some of Kiefer’s defining and fundamental artistic themes and principles: his fascination with alchemy and the elements; his use of impasto techniques and eclectic materials; his attraction to cosmogonical and mythological symbols; and an emphasis on the spiritual value of such materials and symbols.