Rauch turns 50

The Rubell Family Collection now operates as a private museum and educational institution in Miami, Florida. The collection today comprises more than 5,000 works. It is housed in a 4,000-square-meter (45,000-square-foot) public space with a vast library, rotating exhibitions from the collection, and traveling exhibits that tour major museums throughout the US and abroad.

The Rubells were among the earliest proponents of Neo Rauch's work. They were "amazed” by his paintings when they first saw his work at the LISTE Young Art Fair in Basel, Switzerland, about a decade ago and bought their first work by Rauch - 'Das Neue' - in 2000. They later collected a number of paintings by Rauch and other members of what would eventually be dubbed the Leipzig School. The Rubells' art foundation sponsored an exhibit of these combined works entitled “Life After Death,” which traveled to six US museums between 2004 and 2008.

Deutsche Welle spoke to the Rubells just hours before they were due to fly to Germany to celebrate the back-to-back openings of Rauch exhibitions in Leipzig (April 18) and Munich (April 20) in honor of the artist's 50th birthday.

Deutsche Welle: Don and Mera Rubell, can you tell me a little bit about your collection? Who decides what you buy?

Mera Rubell: We've been collecting art since we got married, 46 years ago. We started with a working couple's budget - I was a teacher and Don was in medical school. Its been a relentless pursuit of contemporary art starting from the moment we got together.

Don Rubell: To answer your question, we do it ourselves. Now our son and daughter are very involved, so it's the four of us who make all decisions as far as what we collect.

Mera: You can call it a family affair.

Let's talk about Neo Rauch, who is turning 50 on April 18. Why did you start collecting his works?

Don: That's an easy one. He's a great artist.

So you saw his works and instantly knew… this is it? This is the one to buy?

Don: With Neo Rauch it was sort of an odd thing because we saw his work early, early, early - like in '94 or '96. We liked it very much and thought about it, and followed it. And the work became stronger and stronger. And I guess it was around 2000 that we bought our first piece.

Mera: We were traveling to Berlin after the Wall came down, and someone said, 'You gotta check out what is going on in Leipzig.' So we went, and there is just a huge, old tradition of painting in that Academy.

What did Rauch's work mean to you when you saw it?

Mera: Somehow Neo Rauch was able to deliver a kind of history painting of a moment that passed, that had the psychological power of a time gone, and make it relevant today.

Don: It's a combination of fantasy, surrealism and history. But whether the exact history exists, or whether the imagination constructs the history, doesn't matter. The tone of the paintings is more historical than the fact of the paintings.

Mera: Exactly! It's not like he's telling you a specific story. His paintings take you into some sort of psychological space, and what makes them powerful is that the psychological space almost bridges the place of history and present - and the future, really.

He's quite a master. He has this ability with color, with figure, with drama. These paintings are kind of stage paintings, a kind of storytelling. And you can take that story into your own personal imagination.

Rauch has been called the first German painter to bridge East and West Germany…

Don: The impression of East Germany is achieved more through his palette than his choice of subject matter. So that the colors are reminiscent of some historical past, whereas his subject matter is almost timeless.

The Leipzig School painters became successful in the US, before they really got off the ground in Germany. Why is that?

Don: I think that collectors of his work were not necessarily American but were very international. And in a certain sense, this is how it goes. It's always difficult to deal with things close to home. You find most of the great American Pop Art collections are in Germany, for example.

Mera: I think it's always dangerous to hold it against an artist for becoming quickly accepted. I think Europeans are much more comfortable with a long, slow-developing situation and career. Perhaps our enthusiasm put some people off.

[With the traveling exhibit 'Life After Death'] there was so much excitement around seeing the work in America, because it was a window into these very, very skillful painters, with of course Neo being the master. And no matter how much we want to walk away from trained classical painters, we can't. It's a love affair that will never, ever end.

I have read that some of the Leipzig School painters are unhappy with the moniker they were given. They reject the idea that they are part of any school. Is that so?

Don: You know, when Pop Art first became popular, all of the artists loved the moniker, because collectors would say, 'I'd like to have Pop Art.' As each of the artists became well known in their own right, they wanted the individuality of not being part of a group. And in a sense you are dealing with the same thing here. Ultimately, each artist wants his or her own individuality.

You've said that when you first saw Rauch's work, around 1996, he jumped out at you as 'someone to watch.' What was his status at that time? Was he already established, or young and struggling?

Don: The Italians have a wonderful expression, ne carne ne pesce - neither fish nor fowl. He wasn't an international art star - no gallery in New York was even looking at him at that time. But he clearly was way beyond the student stage.

What would you say to someone who went to a Neo Rauch exhibition and found the work to be inscrutable and even frustrating, because they couldn't figure out what the paintings were supposed to be about?

Don: That's a very good working definition of good contemporary art. Because what you always want to look for in all of the best young art is art that makes you slightly uncomfortable, and that deals with something you don't understand. And that gradually over a period of time, it becomes incorporated into your own essence.

This is what happens with Neo Rauch. I don't know to this day what exactly they are about. I just know they are powerful paintings. The reason you don't understand the painting is because no one has been able to determine the narrative of the painting. So, drop the narrative - the narrative is not given to you.

Mera: But that's how art is! Look, there is so much information in the world that gives you the answer. Most communication in the world today has the answer because people usually want you to buy something. Or do something. Or vote for somebody. The answer is given to you. Most great art - the really good artists - are basically letting you in to their personal, mental space. It's not giving you any answers. I think the artist is as disturbed by what he's painting as you might be. And you are! I am too.

It's the magic and the mystery of painting. It goes off into the far reaches of our imaginations and has no answers. But it certainly engages us emotionally.

Interview: Jennifer Abramsohn
Editor: Kate Bowen