Anselm Kiefer

Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945) is a German artist who studied law and literature before turning to fine art. His work draws primarily on themes from history, mythology, the Bible, and literature. Working across a wide range of materials — wood, straw, sand, wire mesh, and lead — he combines substances of contrasting properties to create works of layered symbolic meaning.

This piece takes its motif from the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament. The title, meaning “I Am Who I Am,” references the voice of God speaking to Moses from the burning bush — . Kiefer gives this divine encounter visual and material form: the phrase is inscribed by hand at the top of the canvas, thorny branches are built up in dense, interwoven layers over a surface textured to resemble earth, and fragments of cardboard rise from the composition to suggest tongues of flame.