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Heavy Cloud

1985
Not on view
Kiefer has often used lead to represent something usually thought to be weightless. Here, the title is a pun on "heavy water," a synonym for radiation in nuclear reactors. Kiefer has pointed out that even though lead is used "to seal radiation," his Heavy Cloud has "a radiation leak," symbolized by the yellow shellac streaks seeping from the bottom of the cloud in the direction of the bleak landscape.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Heavy Cloud
  • Artist: Anselm Kiefer (German, born Donaueschingen, 1945)
  • Date: 1985
  • Medium: Lead and shellac on gelatin silver print, mounted on board
  • Dimensions: 23 3/8 x 34 1/2 in. (59.4 x 87.6 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1995
  • Object Number: 1995.14.41
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Anselm Kiefer
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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Morgenthau Plan, Anselm Kiefer German, Acrylic, emulsion, oil, and shellac on inkjet prints mounted on canvas
Morgenthau Plan
Anselm Kiefer
2012
Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom, Anselm Kiefer German, Gouache, sand, ash and charcoal on two torn and pasted photographs
Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom
Anselm Kiefer
2000
Autumn Forest, Anselm Kiefer German, Watercolor, opaque watercolor, and graphite on papers
Autumn Forest
Anselm Kiefer
1970
Wild Emperor, Anselm Kiefer German, Watercolor and acrylic on paper
Wild Emperor
Anselm Kiefer
1975
Brünnhilde's Death, Anselm Kiefer German, India ink, watercolor, and acrylic on joined paper
Brünnhilde's Death
Anselm Kiefer
1976

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