Neo Rauch
dal 18/4/2010 al 14/8/2010
Segnalato da
18/4/2010
Neo Rauch
Two venues between Leipzig and Munich, Leipzig
Neo Rauch is the most exceptional and intensely discussed international German artist of his generation. On show 60 paintings in both Leipzig and Munich. Working closely with Neo Rauch himself, the works selected have been taken from all phases of the artist's creative development that began some twenty years ago. A conscious decision has been made to avoid a strict chronological presentation of the works. Rauch's painting focuses on social issues and the psychic state of our modern culture that finds expression in the most varied media and - more than ever before - is defined by these.
Painting from Leipzig has advanced to become an international brand – and not only
in the art world. This is exemplified in the work of the artist Neo Rauch, born in
Leipzig in 1960. For his generation, he represents German art internationally; much
in the manner of the generation of Baselitz, Polke and Richter before him.
Neo Rauch's artistic biography is characteristic of the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig.
Like Bernhard Heisig, Werner Tübke, Arno Rink and many others before him, he was
student, assistant and professor at this institute. His oeuvre has its roots in the
academy's tradition of fable and myth arrangements with a distinct craft accent. Only
around ten works leave the studio of Neo Rauch each year. Interest amongst collectors
has grown steadily in recent years. 2010 sees the first major retrospective of the artist
– in the Museum der bildenden Künste of his home city of Leipzig and, at the same
time, at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich. Around 120 – the majority large
format – works from the years 1993 to 2010 bear witness to the eye of an artist who
has lent the surrealist tradition an unexpected actuality and perspective with his
highly idiosyncratic imagery.
Following reunification and the enormous socio-political upheaval the scenarios were
primarily those heralding the transition of the landscape and the dismantling of an
artificially-maintained economy; soon after the scenes were populated by researchers,
artists and paramilitary-looking service staff, pursuing murkily obscure tasks. Up to
the end of the 1990s the work was oriented towards graphic components, after which
time painting and a more distinctive palette of colours began to gain the upper hand.
Rauch also expanded the range of individuals that populated his images: English
gentry, Biedermeier sophisticates and well-equipped activists pass through worlds in
which actions and spaces blend into one another. The objective of these almost
robotic beings and toy-figure protagonists remains obscure. In close collaboration with
the artist, Hans-Werner Schmidt and Bernhart Schwenk have selected 120 pictures,
compiling them into groups of works. The formation of "neighbourhoods" enables the
progression of the individual scenes from the respectively preceding work to be
elaborated.
The genesis of the work thus becomes vivid – in the interaction of the exhibitions in
Leipzig and Munich. In both galleries the audience will also see pictures acquired by
American collectors shortly after their completion and undisplayed in Europe since
that time. Neo Rauch – Begleiter at the Museum der bildenden Künste and the
Pinakothek der Moderne is undoubtedly a duo of exhibitions that will form one of the
highlights of the exhibition year 2010.
The catalogue accompanying the exhibition is published by Hatje Cantz, edited by
Hans-Werner Schmidt and Bernhart Schwenk. It includes contributions from Rudij
Bergmann, Michaël Borremans, Holger Broeker, Markus Brüderlin, Wolfgang Büscher,
Hartwig Ebersbach, Robert Fleck, Werner Hofmann, Ulf Küster, Petra Lewey & Klaus
Fischer, Ulrike Lorenz, Rosa Loy, Felicity Lunn, Jonathan Meese, Hans-Werner
Schmidt, Bernhart Schwenk, Tim Sommer, Barbara Steiner, Uwe Tellkamp, Gary
Tinterow and Luc Tuymans.
Press contact:
Jörg Dittmer Tel. +49 (0)341 21699942 e-mail joerg.dittmer@leipzig.de
Tine Nehler Tel. +49 (0)89 23805253/86 e-mail presse@pinakothek.de
Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig
Katharinenstraße 10, 04109 Leipzig
Tel.: +49 (0)3 41-21 69 90 | E-mail: mdbk@leipzig.de | http://www.mdbk.de
Pinakothek der Moderne
Kunstareal Barer Straße 40, 80799 Munich
Tel.: +49 (0) 89-23 80 52 84 | E-mail: info@pinakothek.de | http://www.pinakothek.de
Hours:
tuesday and thursday till sunday 10am to 6pm
wednesday 12am to 8pm
monday closed
on public holidays 10am to 6pm