HÜTER DER NACHT 2014

Neo Rauch made "HÜTER DER NACHT" with oil paint, though when exactly, I couldn't tell you. What strikes me is the way Rauch fearlessly mashes up different pictorial languages. Look at the figure with the drum – the way it's rendered is so different from the guy in the tracksuit! It’s like flipping through channels between old master painting and something more graphic, maybe even comic book-y. I like how the paint handles the textures, not just in the figures, but in the landscapes too. The way the brushstrokes build up the forms and how those yellow flowers kind of vibrate against the muted blues and greens. Then, there’s this weird kind of logic happening. Nothing makes sense, but it all feels like it has a reason for being there. It’s a reminder that art, at its best, is a conversation between what we see and what we feel, leaving us with more questions than answers, and that’s okay. Like a dream you can't quite explain.