When Neo Rauch was a mere five weeks old, his parents lost their lives in a train accident. Father Hanno Rauch and mother Helga Rauch were studying at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, an art academy in Leipzig, at the time. Rauch was raised by his grandparents in the provincial town of Aschersleben, which, like Leipzig, was part of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). He studied at the same art academy as his parents and became a master student under the renowned painter Arno Rink. Later, he also began teaching there himself. In Rauch’s paintings, you can discern traces of his environment – influences of magical, recurring motifs such as factory chimneys and church towers, and comical figures, all converging in the artist’s personal world.
Neo Rauch’s work has been acquired by museums around the world. For instance, his art can be found in collections at the Metropolitan Museum and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, as well as the Goetz Collection in Munich. In 2009, Neo Rauch was previously featured at the Drents Museum. The exhibition, entitled “Realism from Leipzig,” showcased three generations of the Leipzig School, and marked the first time that Leipzig art was displayed in a museum in the Netherlands.
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