Neo Rauch

b. 1960, German

Biography

Born in 1960, Neo Rauch is a contemporary painter who continues to work and reside in his hometown Leipzig, Germany. He is best known for his characteristic figurative imagery combined with surreal abstraction.

Rauch paints from the heart. Every painting starts out without a preconceived idea of the end result. Painterly intuition, virtuoso brushstrokes, and a vast array recurring subjects and motives populate the often romantic, yet existential, landscapes and settings of his paintings.

Marked by enigma, his compositions often consist of various human characters, animals or art historical references. His palette is uniquely recognizable, using strong contrasts and complementary colors. Rauch breaks open the perspective, which would almost make you dizzy by staring through these paintings as windows to another world.[1]

Career Facts

Neo Rauch studied at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst. Especially since the turn of the millennium, Rauch is being represented by industry leading art galleries such as David Zwirner, establishing himself as one of the most important painters today.

As a result, the German artist has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions at renowned institutions across the globe. Rauch has had solo shows at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy; the Des Moies Art Center in Iowa, the United States of America; the Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle, the Netherlands; the Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR) in Brussels, Belgium; the Museum der Bildenden Künste in Leipzig, Germany; the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Germany; the Zacheta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, Poland; the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Germany; the Museum Frieder Burda in Baden-Baden, Germany; the Essl Museum in Klosterneuburg, Austria; the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the United States of America; the Galerie Rudolfinum in Prague, Czech Republic; the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal, Canada; the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany; the Centro de Arte Contemporaneo de Malaga, Spain; the Albertina in Vienna, Austria; or the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

As a result, his works feature in major public collections, including the Des Moines Art Center in Iowa, the United States of America; the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, the Netherlands; the Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart in Berlin, Germany; the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany; The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the United States of America; the Museum der Bildenden Künste Leipzig, Germany; the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany; The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the United States of America; the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Germany; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the United States of America; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.[2]

Portrait of Neo Rauch. Photo: © Uwe Walter. Courtesy David Zwirner, New York/London.

Neo Rauch Books

For further reading on Neo Rauch, we strongly recommend the following titles:

Artworks

Neo Rauch, Die Klasse, 2021. Oil on canvas – 40 x 60 cm. Courtesy David Zwirner.

Neo Rauch, Der Auftrag, 2021. Oil on canvas – 40 x 60.3 cm. Courtesy David Zwirner.

Neo Rauch, Der Anstoß, 2021. Oil on canvas – 250 x 200 cm. Courtesy David Zwirner.

Neo Rauch, Die Pumpe, 2021. Oil on canvas – 250 x 300 cm. Courtesy David Zwirner.

Neo Rauch, Das Wanken, 2021. Oil on canvas – 40 x 40 cm. Courtesy David Zwirner.

Neo Rauch, Unterm Dach, 2021. Oil on canvas – 250 x 300 cm. Courtesy David Zwirner.

Neo Rauch, Wegweiser, 2021. Oil on canvas – 300 x 250 cm. Courtesy David Zwirner.

Neo Rauch, Der Orden, 2021. Oil on canvas – 250 x 200 cm. Courtesy David Zwirner.

Neo Rauch, Der Zwiespalt, 2021. Oil on canvas – 300 x 500 cm. Courtesy David Zwirner.

Neo Rauch, Der Riß, 2021. Oil on canvas – 250 x 300 cm. Courtesy David Zwirner.

Neo Rauch, Die Gründung, 2021. Oil on canvas – 300 x 250 cm. Courtesy David Zwirner.

Notes:

[1] David Zwirner, Neo Rauch at https://www.davidzwirner.com/artists/neo-rauch/biography consulted 3/02/2022.
[2] Ibidem.

Last Updated on May 8, 2023

Sylvia Walker

Sylvia Walker (b. 1986, US) is an art historian, essayist, art critic, and curator. After contributing to numerous publications, and curating exhibitions in the United States of America and beyond, she currently works as the assistant director of Contemporary Art Issue (CAI).