Neo Rauch (born 18 April 1960, in Leipzig, East Germany) is a German artist whose paintings mine the intersection of his personal history with the politics of industrial alienation. His work reflects the influence of socialist realism, and owes a debt to Surrealists Giorgio de Chirico and René Magritte, although Rauch hesitates to align himself with surrealism. He studied at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig, and he lives in Markkleeberg near Leipzig, Germany and works as the principal artist of the New Leipzig School. The artist is represented by David Zwirner, New York.
Rauch's paintings suggest a narrative intent but, as art historian Charlotte Mullins explains, closer scrutiny immediately presents the viewer with enigmas: "Architectural elements peter out; men in uniform from throughout history intimidate men and women from other centuries; great struggles occur but their reason is never apparent; styles change at a whim."
Rauch's parents died in a train accident when he was four weeks old. He grew up with his grandparents in Aschersleben and passed his exam at the Thomas-Müntzer-Oberschule (now Gymnasium Stephaneum). Rauch studied painting at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig (Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts). He then was Masterstudent with Professor Arno Rink (1981–1986) and with Professor Bernhard Heisig (1986–1990). After the fall of the GDR Rauch worked from 1993 to 1998 as an assistant to Arno Rink and Sighard Gille at the Leipziger Akademie.
In 2004 he selected EASTinternational with Gerd Harry Lybke.
From August 2005 until February 2009, he was Professor at the Leipziger Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst. Together with Timm Rautert he was curator for the exhibit "Man muss sich beeilen, wenn man noch etwas sehen will..." ("One has to hurry, if one still wants to see something...") at Gut Selikum in Neuss.
In painting "Characteristic, suggestion and eternity" are important marks of quality.“ I view the process of painting as an extraordinarily natural form of discovering the world, almost natural as breathing. Outwardly it is almost entirely without intention. It is predominantly limited to the process of a concentrated flow. I am deliberately neglecting to contemplate all of the catalytic influences that would have the power to undermine the innocence of this approach because I would like to express a degree of clarity in these lines by way of example. I view myself as a kind of peristaltic filtration system in the river of time ...
Rauch works with his spouse and artist Rosa Loy at a former cotton-mill, Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei, about which he says: "It is the location of concentration and inspiration. Here the best ideas come to me."
Rauch is considered to be part of the New Leipzig School and his works are characterized by a style that depends on the Social Realism of communism. Especially American critics prefer to recognize in his contemporary style a post communist Surrealism. But more than anyone Rauch is recognized as an East-West painter. Rauch merges the modern myths of both the Warsaw Pact and the Western world. His figures are portrayed in a landscape in which an American Comic-Aestheticism meets the Social Realism of communism. In the art publication „Texte zur Kunst“ (Texts about Art, number 55) he was defined as an example for a new German neo-conservatism.
One of his promoters, Roberta Smith (journalist for the New York Times), caused great enthusiasm in the US for Rauch's works with an article about the "painter, who came from the cold." Rauch's works are in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and have been shown in numerous solo exhibitions, including one at the Wiener Albertina.
Rauch won the Vincent Award in 2002. His work was featured at the 2005 Carnegie International in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and he had his first solo North American museum exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003-2004. His first Canadian exhibit was held at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal in 2006.
In 2007 Rauch painted a series of works especially for a solo exhibition in the mezzanine of the modern art wing at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. This special exhibition was called "Para." Rauch explains that he enjoys the associations the word "para" evokes in his own mind, and says that his works at "Para" have no particular intention, but that they could signify anything to anyone.“ When I first agreed to do the Met exhibition, I thought about a way of working that would be about the nature of a museum. But straight away I realized that I was much more interested in those "visions from the Witches Circle" in my studio than I was in coming up with things in a purely thematic way. Calling them "visions" reflects my personality—they precede inspiration and spring from the moment when internal images appear at the prompting of intellectual decisions. I have no choice but to accept everything that I discover in this way.
Rauch's parents died in a train accident when he was four weeks old. He grew up with his grandparents in Aschersleben and passed his exam at the Thomas-Müntzer-Oberschule (now Gymnasium Stephaneum). Rauch studied painting at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig (Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts). He then was Masterstudent with Professor Arno Rink (1981–1986) and with Professor Bernhard Heisig (1986–1990). After the fall of the GDR Rauch worked from 1993 to 1998 as an assistant to Arno Rink and Sighard Gille at the Leipziger Akademie.
In 2004 he selected EASTinternational with Gerd Harry Lybke.
From August 2005 until February 2009, he was Professor at the Leipziger Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst. Together with Timm Rautert he was curator for the exhibit "Man muss sich beeilen, wenn man noch etwas sehen will..." ("One has to hurry, if one still wants to see something...") at Gut Selikum in Neuss.
In painting "Characteristic, suggestion and eternity" are important marks of quality.“ I view the process of painting as an extraordinarily natural form of discovering the world, almost natural as breathing. Outwardly it is almost entirely without intention. It is predominantly limited to the process of a concentrated flow. I am deliberately neglecting to contemplate all of the catalytic influences that would have the power to undermine the innocence of this approach because I would like to express a degree of clarity in these lines by way of example. I view myself as a kind of peristaltic filtration system in the river of time ...
Rauch works with his spouse and artist Rosa Loy at a former cotton-mill, Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei, about which he says: "It is the location of concentration and inspiration. Here the best ideas come to me."
Rauch is considered to be part of the New Leipzig School and his works are characterized by a style that depends on the Social Realism of communism. Especially American critics prefer to recognize in his contemporary style a post communist Surrealism. But more than anyone Rauch is recognized as an East-West painter. Rauch merges the modern myths of both the Warsaw Pact and the Western world. His figures are portrayed in a landscape in which an American Comic-Aestheticism meets the Social Realism of communism. In the art publication „Texte zur Kunst“ (Texts about Art, number 55) he was defined as an example for a new German neo-conservatism.
One of his promoters, Roberta Smith (journalist for the New York Times), caused great enthusiasm in the US for Rauch's works with an article about the "painter, who came from the cold." Rauch's works are in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and have been shown in numerous solo exhibitions, including one at the Wiener Albertina.
Rauch won the Vincent Award in 2002. His work was featured at the 2005 Carnegie International in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and he had his first solo North American museum exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003-2004. His first Canadian exhibit was held at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal in 2006.
In 2007 Rauch painted a series of works especially for a solo exhibition in the mezzanine of the modern art wing at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. This special exhibition was called "Para." Rauch explains that he enjoys the associations the word "para" evokes in his own mind, and says that his works at "Para" have no particular intention, but that they could signify anything to anyone.“ When I first agreed to do the Met exhibition, I thought about a way of working that would be about the nature of a museum. But straight away I realized that I was much more interested in those "visions from the Witches Circle" in my studio than I was in coming up with things in a purely thematic way. Calling them "visions" reflects my personality—they precede inspiration and spring from the moment when internal images appear at the prompting of intellectual decisions. I have no choice but to accept everything that I discover in this way.
Awards
1992 Renta-Preis 1992, Nürnberg
1997 Kunstpreis der Leipziger Volkszeitung, Leipzig
2002 Vincent van Gogh Bi-annual award for Contemporary Art in Europe, Bonnefanten Museum Maastricht, Netherlands
2005 Kunstpreis Finkenwerder
2010 Stiftungspreis der ökumenischen Stiftung Bibel und Kultur 2010, Stuttgart
1997 Kunstpreis der Leipziger Volkszeitung, Leipzig
2002 Vincent van Gogh Bi-annual award for Contemporary Art in Europe, Bonnefanten Museum Maastricht, Netherlands
2005 Kunstpreis Finkenwerder
2010 Stiftungspreis der ökumenischen Stiftung Bibel und Kultur 2010, Stuttgart
source
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
© Neo Rauch
Posts
