Following upon Neo Rauch"s 2007 exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, this exquisite catalogue presents new work by the artist, as seen in his fourth solo exhibition at David Zwirner gallery in the spring of 2008. (The New York Times" Karen Rosenberg deemed the new work "more of a Fellini film than a costume drama," by comparison.) One of his generation"s most influential painters, Rauch continues the rich tradition of Leipzig figurative painting. Transforming typical industrious scenes into veritable dreamscapes, he transports viewers to a deeply personal and enigmatically symbolic universe. Rauch does not rely on existing imagery or models for his paintings, and while some begin as tiny sketches, he works his imagined scenes directly onto the canvas. He likens his process to reading a novel, with the paintings unfolding as surprisingly for their maker as for any viewer. Springing from dreams and shaped by experience both past and present, Rauch"s instinctive imagery and automatic approach exceed straightforward Surrealist concerns and restrictive artistic practice. Neo Rauch was born in 1960 in Leipzig, East Germany, where he continues to live and work.