Widely celebrated as one of the most influential figurative painters working today, 

 (b. 1960) is known for richly colored and elaborate paintings that contain a repertoire of invented characters, settings, objects, and motifs. At once realistic and familiar, enigmatic and inscrutable, his paintings often hint at broader narratives and histories—seemingly reconnecting with the artistic traditions of realism—yet they are dreamlike and frequently contain disparate and overlapping spaces and forms.

Rauch was born in Leipzig, where he continues to live and work, and studied at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst. Rauch has been represented by David Zwirner since his first show with the gallery in New York in 2000. The solo exhibition 

, was presented at David Zwirner, Hong Kong, in 2023. In 2019, 

 was exhibited at the gallery’s Hong Kong location, marking the artist’s first solo presentation in China, and 

 was presented in 2016 at the gallery’s London location. Previous solo exhibitions at the gallery in New York include 

Rauch's work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at prominent institutions internationally. In 2023, his solo exhibition 

 was presented at MoCo Montpellier Contemporain, France. In 2022–2023, 

, an exhibition of his works on paper, was shown at the Drents Museum, Assen, and 

 was on view at Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle, both in the Netherlands. 

 was on view at the Palazzo Pitti, Florence, in 2019–2020. 

 was presented in 2018–2019 at Des Moines Art Center, Iowa, and traveled to The Drawing Center, New York. 

 was presented at Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle, the Netherlands, in 2018. In 2013, BOZAR – Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels presented a solo show of the artist’s work entitled 

Neo Rauch: The Obsession of the Demiurge. Selected Works 1993–2012

 and in 2010 his first major museum survey was cohosted by the Museum der Bildenden Künste Leipzig and the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich. A version of this survey was shown at the Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, in 2011.

Other venues which have presented solo exhibitions include the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Germany (2012); Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, Germany (2011); Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg, Austria (2011); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2007); Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague (2007); Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (2006); Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany (2006); Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Spain (2005); Albertina, Vienna (2004); and the Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, the Netherlands (2002).

In 2012, the Grafikstiftung Neo Rauch opened in Aschersleben, Germany, where the artist was raised. The foundation is dedicated to maintaining and preserving Rauch's entire graphic oeuvre. In celebration of its ten-year anniversary, the Grafikstiftung Neo Rauch opened an exhibition of Rauch’s prints made since 1988, which is on view through April 28, 2024.

Institutional collections that hold works by the artist include the Albertina Museum, Vienna; Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, the Netherlands; The Broad, Los Angeles; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Denver Museum of Art; the Des Moines Art Center, Iowa; Fondation Beyeler, Basel; Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence; Gemeentemuseum, the Hague; Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin; Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum der Bildenden Künste Leipzig; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, the Netherlands; National Gallery of Ottawa, Canada; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; San Francisco Museum of Art; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Space K, Seoul; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, among others.

Portrait of Neo Rauch, 2023. Photo by Uwe Walter.

Texts by Ingrid Mössinger, Ralph Keuning, and David Salle

The definitive monograph on the acclaimed German artist Neo Rauch, one of the most influential figurative painters working today

Neo Rauch is one of the world’s most successful and popular contemporary artists. A leading force of the Leipzig School, the group of artists that emerged from East Germany in the early 1990s after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Rauch quickly established himself internationally through his large canvases featuring a crossover between Surrealism and popular imagery.

Characterized by a bright acidic palette, Rauch’s ambiguous landscapes are populated by spatially connected, alienated figures conjuring a mysterious atmosphere of distorted nostalgia and failed Utopia. This career-spanning monograph was made in close collaboration with the artist, showcasing Rauch’s work alongside essays and texts that illuminate his work and career.

Neo Rauch: Phaidon

David Zwirner is an art gallery with locations in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Hong Kong. We present physical and online exhibitions, podcasts, books, and more.