NEO RAUCH

Colour fields and enigmatic pictorial landscapes are drawn from the surroundings of his print studio in Leipzig, where he works with a master lithographer to achieve his prints. The muted palette of his multicoloured lithography adds to the atmospheric motif, in which backdrops of barren architecture and foliage surround hybrid characters in strained or leisurely activity. Each singular charade suggests a mythic theatre of simple, communal living. These intricate lithographs are created by either brushing or etching into stone, before the surface is coated in a solution that allows the ink to better penetrate it. Multiple colours are then reproduced through a careful series of ‘colour runs.’ One inked stone is required for each colour, attaining the painterly effect of watercolours or gouaches.

‘By superimposing the various colour states, you can achieve lovely velvety depths. This in general is what fascinates me about lithography. That it’s actually a very painterly medium.’—Neo Rauch, as quoted in the exhibition catalogue Rosa Loy, Neo Rauch: Die Strickerin/The Knitter (2018)

This selection of prints is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Neo Rauch, Propaganda, at David Zwirner in Hong Kong, on view through May 4, 2019. Propaganda (2019), a single-colour lithograph print, complements the painting of the same moniker, featured in the artist’s exhibition in Hong Kong. While varied in composition, the painting and the print share particular visual elements and personae. Other works have been made available from Rauch’s print studio exclusively for this Viewing Room.