The German artist Anselm Kiefer is committed to confronting his country’s dark history. “Ruins, for me, are the beginning,” he once said. “With the debris, you can construct new ideas.” Kiefer was born in Donaueschingen in March 1945, two months before the surrender of Nazi Germany. At the University of Freiburg he started studying law, but later moved to Dusseldorf to work under the artist Joseph Beuys. Kiefer draws a wide frame of reference into his work, from German folk songs to Wagner’s “Ring” cycle to verse from the Romania poet Paul Celan. He works closely with rough materials like lead, which Kiefer describes as “the only material heavy enough to carry the weight of human history.” His art is layered, deep, haunted. In recent years he’s expanded into classical mythology. In “Nymphäum,” over 20 monumental works recreate the ancient Greek sanctuaries dedicated to nymphs. The exhibition itself becomes a nymphäum. —Maggie Turner