Entfaltung 2008

Curator: Good morning. Today we are exploring "Entfaltung," an oil painting created in 2008 by Neo Rauch. Editor: My first impression is of organised chaos; the figures are meticulously rendered, but the scene overall feels unsettling, almost dreamlike. Curator: Rauch emerged as a significant figure in the "New Leipzig School," which brought figurative painting back into prominence in Germany, especially after the reunification. "Entfaltung" which can be translated to "Unfolding," encapsulates a certain political unfolding as well as his personal history as someone living in East Germany after the fall of the wall. The painting's subject matter appears pulled from several places that represent Rauch’s experiences living in the former East Germany Editor: Yes, you can definitely see the tension through his bold palette choices: those reds against the muted blues. The composition too feels fractured; nothing quite resolves, creating visual dissonance. Note, for example, how figures seemingly emerge from nowhere with hands holding papers. What do you think the hand held documents represent? Curator: They evoke a sense of bureaucracy, which in communist East Germany permeated all aspects of life. These scattered, detached hands holding documents might symbolize the impersonal, administrative machinery of the state intruding on individual existence. His father was a college student who died in a train accident, while his mother was sent to work as a bookkeeper as part of the "Back to the Countryside" movement. These bureaucratic structures were prevalent during his formative years. Editor: It's as if the personal is relentlessly shadowed by the official, leaking onto the canvas and affecting the viewers perceptions. Notice how the light in the work seems deliberately unbalanced; figures bathed in direct lighting contrasting sharply with shadowy recesses. This evokes feelings of disquietude and apprehension. Curator: I concur, and let's not ignore Rauch's unique positioning in art history. Emerging post-reunification, his work became a site for processing the psychological residue of a society undergoing intense transformation. "Entfaltung" might capture some of the turbulence of that period as his experiences are communicated through bold, raw images. Editor: I can now appreciate the painting a bit better given its historic and personal context. Its beauty arises in its ability to weave political narrative, personal grief, and abstract composition all into one work of art. Curator: It is definitely one of his masterpieces; his visual vocabulary prompts us to consider the profound effect of the social and political contexts on personal and shared memory.