Famous for monumental paintings and installations that explore mortality, beauty, and evil, Anselm Kiefer builds layers of historical reference into his work—an insistent form of remembering. He creates those layers with natural materials such as earth, lead, wood, sand, and hay, all enmeshed in oil paint. Last year, for the Venice Biennale, Kiefer installed a series of paintings in the Sala dello Scrutinio at Palazzo Ducale. For this show in Rome, he is presenting eight huge new paintings themed around the islands and the sea—metaphors for human isolation and connection. —Elena Clavarino