Born just before the collapse of the Nazi state, German artist Anselm Kiefer is obsessed with the horrific history of the Third Reich and often addresses the cultural void left by the expulsion and murder of Jews. Kiefer's rough, dark works are heavy with the weight of German culpability. Their mottled, cracked surfaces, often with detritus affixed, seem primordial, alchemical, and mystical. During the last decade, the artist has turned his focus from Germany's tragic history to the mysticism of the Kabbalah. This work, from Kiefer's Merkabah series, engages pre-kabbalistic texts derived from Merkabah mysticism, which related to the pursuit of spiritual ascendance. The Merkabah's seven steps to diving fulfillment serve as a metaphor for the artist's ongoing creative process.