Neo Rauch in Conversation With Noah Becker

 Neo Rauch, Zweifel, 2018, Oil on canvas, 98 3/8 x 118 1/8 inches, 250 x 300 cm, Framed: 100 3/8 x 120 1/4 x 2 1/2 inches, 255 x 305.4 x 6.4 cm, Photo by Uwe Walter, ©Neo Rauch / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner

By NOAH BECKER, April 2019

I had a chance to speak with internationally acclaimed painter Neo Rauch whose exhibitions in Hong Kong at Zwirner Gallery and in New York City at the Drawing Center are currently on view. 

Noah Becker: When you make paintings are you pre-planning a narrative or are you working intuitively?

Neo Rauch: No, I do not plan anything. I just start. It is an adventure. It is as if I am sitting in front of a white wall of fog, and then I decide to walk right into it. 

Becker: What elements do you feel makes for a successful painting?

Rauch: It has to be well organized in terms of the composition and the color scheme.. But above all, it has to be strange, suggestive, and timeless.

Becker: How do you think about the use of color in your work?

Rauch: I use colours intuitively, but I begin with deciding on three main colours for each painting. For example, a trinity of brown, blue, and yellow would help to ensure that the painting would have a certain kind of presence and impact. WM

Neo Rauch: Propaganda, a solo exhibition of new paintings, is on view through May 4, 2019 at David Zwirner, Hong Kong.  

Neo Rauch: Aus dem Boden/From the Floor, the first U.S. exhibition to focus on the artist's paper works, is on view at The Drawing Center, New York April 12 through July 28, 2019. 

For more information: https://www.davidzwirner.com/news/neo-rauch-aus-dem-bodenfrom-floor

Der Aufschneider, 2018, Oil on canvas, 15 3/4 x 19 5/8 inches, 40 x 50 cm, Framed: 16 3/4 x 20 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches, 42.5 x 52.1 x 3.8 cm, Photo by Uwe Walter, ©Neo Rauch / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner

Neo Rauch, Anfahrt, 2018, Oil on canvas, 9 7/8 x 11 3/4 inches, 25 x 30 cm, Framed: 10 1/2 x 12 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches 26.7 x 32.4 x 3.8 cm
Photo by Uwe Walter, ©Neo Rauch / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner

Neo Rauch, Propaganda, 2018 , Oil on canvas, 98 3/8 x 118 1/8 inches, 250 x 300 cm, Framed: 100 3/8 x 120 1/4 x 2 1/2 inches, 255 x 305.4 x 6.4 cm, Photo by Uwe Walter, ©Neo Rauch / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner