Rosa Loy and Neo Rauch show their private collection in Zwickau

The artist couple Neo Rauch and Rosa Loy are presenting works from their private collection in Zwickau. Under the title "Perlmutt II", 25 small and large-format works by both painters will be shown in the rooms of the "Freunde Aktueller Kunst" association until June 19. This also includes the work "Anlage", which they created together in 2020.

The collection includes paintings that they gave to each other as gifts or bought back on the art market, the couple explained at the opening of the show. What do they look for when choosing? "What we both like," says Loy.

"Mother-of-pearl" is what they call their collection. Rauch draws the comparison to a shell, the inside of which shimmers wonderfully and in which a pearl is created when a grain of sand falls into it. An artist also creates something beautiful with color and uses it to refine something, adds Loy.

Why Zwickau?

Rosa Loy was born in Zwickau in 1958, Neo Rauch in Leipzig in 1960. Both belong to the internationally acclaimed New Leipzig School.

The couple have maintained links with Zwickau for many years. Loy had her first solo exhibition here in 1999. Her work was also honored in 2004 with a show entitled "Die Verbündeten" (The Allies) in the city's art collections. Together with her husband, she previously had an exhibition in 2015 entitled "Perlmutt", which was organized by the Kunstverein.

Art as a way of reconciling with the world

Painting, art, is a way for him to reconcile himself with the world, with the conditions that oppress and trouble him, explains Rauch. When he sits down at the canvas, he is not aiming for anything in particular, he is completely with himself. He draws a parallel to nature: "A plant, a flower is also at best a prayer to a higher authority."