Anslem Kiefer’s Takeover of the Stedelijk Lets Viewers See the Warning Signs

The Stedelijk Museum’s large staircase is grand—it almost immediately lends the museum a sense of majesty. But these days, that staircase leads to something unsettling: at its summit, visitors face a towering set of panels layered with soil, vintage uniforms, and dried flowers. These dirtied surfaces rise high above viewers’ heads, giving way to expanses covered in gold leaf and copper paint that have also been marked up and tarnished. There are also German words that have