The Land of the Two Rivers ( Zweistromland ) 1995

Anselm Kiefer made this painting, "The Land of the Two Rivers," with oil, acrylic, and shellac, building up a surface that feels like the weight of history itself. Kiefer's known for surfaces that are practically geological. You can see in the way the paint is layered – thick in some spots, scraped away in others – that artmaking here is a process of excavation as much as creation. The color palette is muted, mostly greys and greens, which gives it an aged, almost melancholic feel. Look closely at the way the horizon line seems to crumble and dissolve. It reminds me that nothing is permanent, and that even the most solid-seeming structures are eventually worn down by time and the elements. It's almost like a Gerhard Richter, with that smeared, almost ghostly quality, but with a lot more guts and grit. It is a reminder that art embraces ambiguity, leaving room for multiple interpretations.