Too Large to Exhibit, Anselm Kiefer’s Monumental Painting Gets Its Own Pavilion by David Chipperfield!

Some artworks are so big that the usual museum walls simply can’t hold them. For years, that was the fate of Anselm Kiefer’s Schwarze Flocken (Black Flakes), a painting more than eleven metres tall that sat unseen in the Würth Collection. In October 2026, the problem was solved the most direct way possible: by building a home for it. The new Anselm Kiefer Pavilion in Künzelsau, Germany, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, opened to the public on 13 October 2026 and is dedicated to this single painting.

Why the Anselm Kiefer Pavilion Matters

Most museums design rooms first and fit art into them later. Here the order was reversed. The pavilion was developed in close collaboration with Kiefer and tailored to one work, which is rare even among high-profile commissions. It sits in the sculpture garden of Museum Würth 2, part of the Carmen Würth Forum cultural centre, which Chipperfield’s studio had also designed. That continuity means the new building reads as a natural extension of the site rather than an add-on.

It also marks a first for the painting itself. Because of its dimensions, Schwarze Flocken had never been exhibited before. It is the largest Kiefer in the Würth Collection, so the pavilion is a permanent public home for a work that had effectively been in storage.

The Painting: Schwarze Flocken and Paul Celan

Painted in 2007, Schwarze Flocken is made with oil, emulsion, shellac, soil and twigs on canvas. These raw, earthy materials are typical of Kiefer, whose work often involves straw, ash, clay and lead. The painting measures 11 metres high and 7.10 metres wide.

Its title comes from a poem by the Romanian-born poet Paul Celan, written around July 1944 in Czernowitz (today Chernivtsi, Ukraine). Celan had returned from a forced labour camp and written the poem in response to news of his parents’ fate during the Holocaust. Kiefer has returned to Celan’s poetry again and again. Here, through abstraction, he evokes the poem’s bleak winter landscape and its grief. This is a painting about memory and loss, and the pavilion is designed to give it room to be experienced slowly.

Chipperfield’s Design: One Monolithic Volume

The architecture is deliberately restrained. The pavilion is a single monolithic volume with bush-hammered concrete walls, a texture created by roughening the surface after casting. Inside, the architects and Kiefer worked together on the proportions, the openings and the colouring of the wall surfaces, so that the building frames the painting instead of competing with it.

Natural climate control instead of heavy technology

One of the most interesting decisions is practical rather than visual. The room does not rely on strict artificial climate or lighting parameters. Instead, the walls are built in three layers (concrete, brickwork and clay plaster) so the structure itself helps regulate the interior climate. The result, as reported, is a calm atmosphere centred entirely on the work.

Anselm Kiefer Pavilion at a Glance

What This Pavilion Tells Us About Showing Monumental Art

Kiefer pavilions aren’t entirely new. Fundació Sorigué’s PLANTA project in Lleida, Spain, also has a dedicated Kiefer space. What stands out in Künzelsau is how specific the response is. A few takeaways:

• Scale can drive architecture. When a work is too big for standard galleries, building around it can be better than compromising the work.
• Artist and architect in dialogue. Kiefer and Chipperfield both belong to the Pour le mérite order, and their shared interest in materials and ruin is a good fit for this project.
• Low-tech can be smart. Using wall layers for climate stability is a thoughtful alternative to energy-hungry systems.
• Permanence changes the experience. A single work in a dedicated room invites a different kind of looking than a crowded exhibition.

If you’re planning a visit, check Museum Würth’s official channels for current opening hours and ticket details, as those weren’t part of the announcement coverage.

FAQs

Who designed the Anselm Kiefer Pavilion?

David Chipperfield Architects designed it, working closely with Anselm Kiefer. The same studio designed the neighbouring Carmen Würth Forum and Museum Würth 2.

Where is the Anselm Kiefer Pavilion?

It is in Künzelsau, a town north-east of Stuttgart in Germany, within the sculpture garden of Museum Würth 2.

How big is Schwarze Flocken?

The painting is 11 metres high and 7.10 metres wide. It is the largest Kiefer work in the Würth Collection.

What does “Schwarze Flocken” mean?

It means “Black Flakes” and is borrowed from a poem by Paul Celan, written around 1944 in response to the loss of his parents during the Holocaust.

Sources: Wallpaper* – David Chipperfield Architects’ new pavilion · Bundesregierung press release BKM-103, 12 Oct 2026 · Artlyst – Kiefer Pavilion, PLANTA