Ahead of his Hong Kong exhibition, Tatler visits the studio of the German artist who is widely celebrated as one of the most influential painters of his generation
In East Germany, all the cool kids read Mosaik, an extremely popular comic book. One of these cool kids was artist Neo Rauch, who grew up there in the 1970s to 80s. He lived vicariously through the three protagonists who travelled the world and had (mis)adventures. “It was like they were travelling for us, since we couldn’t do it,” says Rauch, sitting in his airy Leipzig studio. “It showed the world to those trapped behind the wall.”
The German painter’s studio is in a building in a former industrial area in Leipzig, where a former cotton mill was turned into a complex housing many studios and warehouses. His wife and fellow artist Rosa Loy has her own studio right next door. The couple welcomed Tatler to Rauch’s studio, where a punch bag hangs in one corner, and scattered across the paint-splattered floors are trinkets and gifts from travels and friends, and a couple of unframed canvases: two works that will be on view at Field Signs, the artist’s current show at David Zwirner, Hong Kong (that’s starting from November 16); the remainder had been dispatched to the framer. There’s a makeshift bar in another corner, and a disco ball hanging from the ceiling—both essential for celebrating festive occasions, most recently the artist’s 63rd birthday. There’s also a kitchen in which Rauch was preparing an aromatic lunch of gnocchi cooked in butter and thyme, and peppers stuffed with minced meat. This wholesome, grounded ritual of lunch is a more-or-less daily practice for Loy and Rauch, who take a break from their art to eat together, then head back to work.