Neo Rauch: Die Mitte

Neo Rauch did much to prepare the way for the return of figuration in the visual arts. In the 1990s he conquered the international art world with his figurative paintings. At the time, they fell outside the normal canon of contemporary art, being neither abstract nor conceptual. His preference for comic strips, his origins in the GDR, the mysterious, unfathomable nature of his narratives – these are all part of the Rauch Riddle. Thanks to him, Leipzig gained an international reputation as a city of painters. Die Mitte is an overview of Neo Rauch’s most recent paintings, combined with a particular category of early work – the series of tondi he made in 1993 and 1994.

Rauch moves back and forth through time, thus rejecting its linear progression. Without hesitation, he links different times, meanings, styles and motifs to create his own deeply personal universe. His paintings are both mythical and intensely realistic at once, depicting a world that is unstable and full of chaos. His work can be interpreted in endless ways, and the artist constantly invites us to relate to his paintings in a deeply personal way. As soon as you enter his world, you gradually lose your grip until everything that had seemed certain is suddenly uncertain. Rauch’s paintings are a mysterious and personal journey that cause confusion yet also provide a firm footing, because his fellow travellers and companions also embrace the viewer.