Anselm Kiefer's 'Merkaba' and Michael Craig-Martin's 'Eye of the Storm' Exhibitions at Gagosian Gallery

Gagosian Gallery presented two contrasting exhibitions in late 2002 and early 2003. Anselm Kiefer's 'Merkaba' ran from November 8 to December 14, 2002, transforming the gallery space with monumental installations. The German artist, born in 1945, created works using lead, concrete, rusted steel, scorched earth, straw, and other materials, referencing Jewish mysticism, the Holocaust, and European poetry. A catalogue for the exhibition was available for $80. Harold Bloom, Yale's Sterling Professor of Humanities, contributed an essay that positioned Kiefer as an intellectually and spiritually ambitious creator. Michael Craig-Martin's 'Eye of the Storm' exhibition was on view through February 15, 2003, at 555 West 24th Street. The review contrasts Kiefer's dense, apocalyptic works with Craig-Martin's neo-conceptualist pieces, describing the shift between exhibitions as moving from the sublime to the ridiculous. Kiefer's career is contextualized within German neo-expressionism of the 1980s, noting his early provocative performances involving Nazi imagery and his evolution from irony to earnest metaphysical exploration. The critique questions the originality claims in Bloom's essay, pointing to influences from artists like Jean Dubuffet, arte povera, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, and Joseph Beuys.