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“Handlauf” by Neo Rauch was on view from 26 September to 28 November 2020 at Galerie EIGEN + ART Leipzig.
Neo Rauch’s 2020 exhibition “Handlauf” , hosted at Galerie EIGEN+ART in Leipzig, plunges viewers into an enigmatic dreamscape where time bends and meaning hovers just beyond reach. Drawing from the German word for “handrail”—a device meant to provide balance—Rauch constructs a visual narrative that explores equilibrium, both literal and metaphorical, within chaotic environments. The exhibition is organized around recurring motifs—spinning tops, industrial scenes, and surreal figures—that thread together a symbolic language of tension, labor, and fragile harmony. Rauch’s paintings, all oil on canvas, reject linear temporality, instead collapsing past, present, and imagined futures into dense, psychologically charged compositions. Rooted in surrealist aesthetics yet infused with the weight of historical consciousness, “Handlauf” invites viewers to navigate uncertainty with curiosity rather than fear. In a moment marked by global instability, Rauch’s dreamlike world resonates as both refuge and provocation.
The eponymous painting “Handlauf” stands as the conceptual and visual centerpiece of Neo Rauch’s 2020 exhibition. In this expansive oil on canvas work, Rauch presents a scene that is at once enigmatic and emblematic of his lifelong exploration of surreal figuration and historical resonance. The composition features a central female figure upon whose stage-like platform a boy’s face appears to grow spontaneously from her form—an image that speaks to transformation, lineage, and the fluidity of identity. Behind her, a fantastical architectural structure rises, punctuated by abstract shapes, ladders, and indistinct figures engaged in ambiguous acts. A mythical creature—half-human, half-beast—looms in the foreground, reinforcing the painting’s dreamlike dissonance. Katharina Gunther has noted that “Handlauf” , like many works in the series, uses spinning tops as symbols of equilibrium, both physical and psychological. The painting’s title, meaning “handrail,” suggests guidance through uncertainty—a motif echoed in its layered imagery and shifting perspectives. With its rich palette and complex spatial dynamics, “Handlauf” embodies Rauch’s vision of art as both a grounding force and an open-ended journey into the unknown.
At the heart of “Handlauf” is “Kleines Lied” , a painting that encapsulates Rauch’s signature style and thematic concerns. A man plays a musical instrument while a woman holds a microphone, their forms partially obscured by blurred contours and shifting color fields. Behind them, an industrial landscape unfolds—a recurring backdrop in Rauch’s 2020 works—suggesting both creation and decay. This juxtaposition is not accidental; it reflects Rauch’s interest in the interplay between human expression and mechanized labor. The artist himself has described factories and smoke as symbols of productive effort, a sentiment echoed in his interview with art historian Ralph Keuning. Here, music becomes a counterbalance to industry, a rhythmic pulse beneath the surface of the image. The composition does not immediately reveal its meaning; instead, it lingers in the mind like a half-remembered melody, urging the viewer to find harmony in dissonance.
In “Das Geschick” , Rauch further explores the idea of balance—not only physical but also psychological and existential. Two central figures are caught mid-motion: one in a golf swing, another observing closely. Their interaction is ambiguous—part ritual, part performance—set against a background of trees and indistinct architectural forms. The presence of spinning tops, scattered subtly in the foreground, reinforces this motif of precarious stability. Art critic Katharina Gunther has noted that these objects symbolize the negotiation of gravity and self-possession, a leitmotif across the “Handlauf” series. The painting’s spatial ambiguity—where natural and constructed environments coexist uneasily—echoes the viewer’s own struggle to locate themselves within Rauch’s layered symbolism. As Thomas Meaney observed in “The New Yorker” , Rauch’s scenes feel simultaneously futuristic and archaic, populated by figures who seem both connected and isolated, bound together by shared tension yet emotionally distant.
Finally, “Glückshügel” (“Hill of Luck”) offers a climactic vision of Rauch’s thematic preoccupations. Centered on a kneeling woman tending to a winged figure, the painting evokes both care and transformation. Another woman assists her, their actions framed by oversized floating lampshades and abstract shapes that suggest a subconscious logic. The scene is mysterious yet grounded in gesture—hands reaching, touching, adjusting—as if attempting to restore order or facilitate flight. This image resonates with broader cultural references, recalling the myth of Icarus and the eternal human desire to rise above limitations. Yet Rauch avoids clear moralizing; instead, he presents ambiguity as a condition to be inhabited rather than resolved. His work, like the films of David Lynch or the literature of Italo Calvino, invites multiple interpretations without settling on any single truth.
As soon as we enter his world, we gradually lose our grip until everything that had seemed certain is suddenly uncertain. Neo Rauch’s paintings are a mysterious and personal journey that cause confusion yet also provide a firm footing.
“Handlauf” is more than an exhibition—it is an immersive encounter with the paradoxes of existence. Rauch’s paintings do not offer answers but instead invite viewers to dwell in the spaces between certainty and doubt, structure and chaos, memory and imagination. His use of recurring motifs—spinning tops, industrial backdrops, and spectral figures—creates a visual syntax that feels both ancient and contemporary. The exhibition’s strength lies in its refusal to simplify; each painting demands sustained attention, rewarding those willing to engage with its layered complexity. In doing so, “Handlauf” contributes significantly to contemporary art discourse by reaffirming the power of painting to articulate the ineffable. For the culturally curious and the seasoned enthusiast alike, Rauch’s world is one worth entering—if only to remember how much remains unknown.
