Operation Sea Lion 1975

Anselm Kiefer made “Operation Sea Lion” with oil paint, and maybe some other stuff mixed in too, I’m not sure. It looks like he’s used a pretty dry brush, dragging the paint across the surface to build up a crusty, textured feel. The colors are muted, mostly greens and browns, giving it this sense of history and decay. The way he's built up the paint in the foreground, it's almost like we're looking at a landscape made of memories. The brushstrokes are so physical, you can almost feel him wrestling with the paint, trying to capture something that's just beyond reach. Take a look at those smudges of dark brown in the bottom right corner – they’re like erasures, obscuring and revealing at the same time. Kiefer’s work reminds me of Gerhard Richter in a way. Both artists share this fascination with history. They want to ask questions rather than give answers.