The Saint Louis Art Museum will host "Becoming the Sea," a monumental exhibition of works by German artist Anselm Kiefer, from October 18, 2025 through January 25, 2026. The show marks Kiefer's first U.S. retrospective in 20 years and features towering works up to 30 feet tall, including site-specific pieces inspired by the Mississippi and Rhine rivers. Curated by museum director Min Jung Kim and assistant curator Melissa Venator in direct collaboration with the 80-year-old artist, the exhibition will fill the museum's Sculpture Hall and contemporary galleries with over 30 loans from other collections, requiring custom installation systems and even the removal of a doorway to accommodate a large painting.
The exhibition matters because it represents a rare, comprehensive survey of Kiefer's six-decade career, bringing his monumental, myth-infused works to a major American museum for the first time in two decades. By creating a "low-interpretation environment" that prioritizes personal connection over explanation, the show challenges traditional retrospective formats and invites visitors to engage directly with Kiefer's complex references to history, mythology, and the natural world. The collaboration between the artist and the museum also underscores the Saint Louis Art Museum's commitment to presenting ambitious, artist-driven projects that resonate with both local and national audiences.