39 Quotes by Anselm Kiefer

I never see a forest that does not bear a mark or a sign of history.

As a child I had no toys; our house was bombed, but there were lots of bricks. Ruins are wonderful because they are the beginning of something new, you can do something with them.

Art is difficult. Its not entertainment.

As an artist you have to find something that deeply interests you. It's not enough to make art that is about art, to look at Matisse and Picasso and say, how can I paint like them? You have to be obsessed by something that can't come out in any other way, then the other things - the skill and technique - will follow.

I am interested in reconstructing symbols. It's about connecting with an older knowledge and trying to discover continuities in why we search for heaven,

I believe in empty spaces; they’re the most wonderful thing.

Art maybe the only space where an indvidual can be utterly free to question himself, as well as his relationship to his God.

Art is difficult. It’s not entertainment. There are only a few people who can say something about art – it’s very restricted. When I see a new artist I give myself a lot of time to reflect and decide whether it’s art or not. Buying art is not understanding art.

History speaks to artists. It changes the artist’s thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images.