In the small German town of Künzelsau, north-east of Stuttgart, a new pavilion by David Chipperfield Architects has opened. Here, you can find the painting Schwarze Flocken (2007), a large-scale work by German artist Anselm Kiefer, best known for his confronting paintings that capture post-war Germany. His pieces sit at the intersection of contemporary art and neo-expressionism.
Front façade during sunset
Inside the Anselm Kiefer Pavilion
The pavilion stands within the sculpture garden of Museum Würth 2at the Carmen Würth Forum cultural centre, also designed and realised by David Chipperfield Architects, and matches the distinct architectural language of the existing buildings.
It comprises one monolithic volume with bush-hammered concrete walls, a sculpture in itself. Inside, the architecture firm worked with the artist to determine the proportions, openings, and colouring of the wall surfaces.
View from the north
Kiefer’s large-scale work measures 11m in height and 7.10m in width; it is the largest by the artist in the Würth Collection and, due to its dimensions, has not previously been exhibited.
Anselm Kiefer Pavilion exhibition room with Anselm Kiefer’s Schwarze Flocken, 2007, oil, emulsion, shellac, soil, and twigs on canvas
The painting's title, Schwarze Flocken (meaning Black Flakes), is borrowed from a poem by Romanian poet Paul Celan. He wrote this around July 1944 in Czernowitz (Chernivtsi, Ukraine), following his return from a forced labour camp. It was a response to the news of his parents’ fate during the Holocaust – his mother was shot, and his father died of typhus in a camp in Transnistria, in Moldova. Kiefer’s painting is one of reflection. And through abstraction, he visually captures the poem’s description of the harsh winter landscape and grief.
Anselm Kiefer Pavilion entrance portico with Schwarze Flocken visible inside
The building was designed in close collaboration with the artist and specifically tailored to the work. The room doesn’t have strict artificial climate control or lighting parameters. Instead, the architects optimised its three-layer wall construction – concrete, brickwork and clay plaster – to create natural climate control.
The overall result is building that creates a tranquil atmosphere, centred fully on the artwork on display.