It is an altogether unique experience to follow the painter Rosa Loy into her picture worlds, and to explore them in order there to discover, for our present age, what has been at the heart of the female existence for thousands of years. The artist, who studied at the Leipzig University in the nineteen-eighties and still lives in the east German city, is counted among the New Leipzig School. Her picture subjects deal with the female mystery, new femininity, and new romanticism, which, in retrospect, played a major role in Saxon painting. Rosa Loy summons the courage to integrate femininity and beauty into her representational painting and in her works opens up a wide spectrum of possible interpretations for us.

Her search for a new-found femininity feeds on traditional female knowledge and the mysteries it entails of the inner nature of humans and the nature surrounding them. The picture compositions, rich in detail and full of symbolism, thus turn into echoes of old myths and spiritual cultures. The figures inhabiting her dreamlike landscapes and gardens are exclusively women, communicating with each other or lovingly pursuing their various activities. There are connotations here of a fairytale world, haunted by mythical creatures and trolls, and translated into a painting practice that springs from poetry and imagination. If we look deeper, though, the female figures, often depicted as pairs of twins or sisters, point towards a very sensitive web of relations within a feminine view of nature and society, which in fact is not defined by a political or feminist agenda. In her love of colour and her structures, Rosa Loy also borrows from the Renaissance, just as she likes using casein paints, which characterised the period’s murals and their composition.

Karin Pernegger (in: Rosa Loy - Buch, Kunstraum Innsbruck and Galerie Kleindienst, 2016)

 

• 1958 born in Zwickau (Germany)
  1976-1985 Diploma in horticulture at the Humboldt University Berlin
  1985-1990 Studies at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig
  1990 Diploma (Prof. Felix Müller)
  1990-1993 Master studies in the class of Prof. Rolf Münzner
  Rosa Loy lives and works in Leipzig

Solo shows

• 2024 Glade, Micheal Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles
  2023 Herbarium, Lyles & King, New York
• Rosa Loy & Rose Wylie - Doubletten, Museum Bensheim (Germany)
  Das alte Land (with Neo Rauch), Art and Museum Centre Sinkka, Kerava/Helsinki (Finland)
  2022 Lucky Days, Gallery Baton, Seoul (South Korea)
  Flaneurin, Frauen Museum, Wiesbaden (Germany)
  Es wird durchgemalt, Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig
  2021 Flowers on the Border (with Neo Rauch), Space K, Seoul (South Korea)
  2020 In dieser Welt, Museum Bensheim (Germany)
• Everything stays different, Lyles & King, New York
• Substanzen, Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig
  Ausblick, Galerie Noah, Augsburg ( Germany)
• 2019 Der Tag, Gutshaus Steglitz, Berlin
• Anwesenheiten, Kunstverein Münsterland, Coesfeld (Germany)
• La Torre (with Neo Rauch), Fondazione Coppola, Vicenza (Italy)
• Soli Deo Gloria (with Neo Rauch), Gutshof Schulenburg, Bisdorf (Germany)
• Anwesenheiten, Gesellschaft der Freunde junger Kunst, Baden-Baden (Germany)
• Das trifft sich gut, Market Church St Cosmas and Damian, Goslar (Germany)
• Préservation du Temple, ACMCM Centre d'Art Contemporain, Perpignan (France)
• 2018 So near and yet so far, Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles
• Die Strickerin (with Neo Rauch), Grafikstiftung Neo Rauch, Aschersleben (Germany)
• Lohengrin (with Neo Rauch), Villa Schöningen, Potsdam (Germany)
• 2017 Bilder Bergen, Drents Mjuseum, Assen (The Netherlands)
• Spring, Gallery Baton, Seoul (South Korea)
• Rosa Loy - Painting, Lippische Gesellschaft, Schloss Detmold (Germany)
• Die Praxis, De Martino Gallery, Munich
• 2016 Maifeier (Party in May), Gallery Kleindienst, Leipzig
  The Other Side, Kunstraum Innsbruck (Austria)
• Summer Joy, Galerie im Herrenhaus, Dobis (Germany)
  2015 My Loved Land, Villa Katzorke, Essen (Germany)
  Glade, Gallery Noah, Augsburg (Germany)
  Perlmutt (with Neo Rauch), Freunde aktueller Kunst, Zwickau (Germany)
  2014 Green Heart, Gallery Baton, Seoul (Southkorea)
  From a close distance, Ornis A. Gallery, Amsterdam
  Escort, Yusto/Giner Gallery, Marbella (Spain)
  2013 Buzz, Gallery Stötzel-Tied, Goslar
  Meander, Gallery Kleindienst, Leipzig
  Souvenir, McClain Gallery, Houston
  2012 Gravitation (with Neo Rauch), Art Collections Chemnitz
  Tube, SpardaWelt, Stuttgart
  Dewdrop, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London
  Convocation, Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles
  Blossom Ground, Gallery Noah, Augsburg
  My Grove, Art association Rosenheim
  2011 Manna, Art hall Giessen
  Behind the Gardens (with Neo Rauch), Essl Museum Klosterneuburg/Vienna
  Whispering Leaves, Art cercle Aichwald, Aichwald Aichschieß
  2010 Rosa Loy - The eye sees, Gallery Noah, Augsburg
  Jelängerjelieber, Gallery Kleindienst, Leipzig
  2009 The Secret Library, Schlechtriem Brothers, Berlin
  2008 Close to me, André Schlechtriem Contemporary, New York
  2007 My circles, André Schlechtriem, New York
  2006 Transformation, Gallery Wilma Tolksdorf, Berlin
  Almanac, Art association Oldenburg, Oldenburg
  Nine Ways, David Zwirner, New York
  2005 Gallery Wilma Tolksdorf, Frankfurt/Main
  Gallery of the Stadtsparkasse Gütersloh
  2004 The Allied, Museum of the city of Zwickau
  Gallery Kleindienst, Leipzig
  2003 Gallery Wilma Tolksdorf, Frankfurt/Main
  The Allied, Art collection Gera
  Gallery Entwistle, London
  2002 Sponsorship award of contemporary art, Art room B2, Leipzig
  Art association of Backnang
  Gallery Entwistle, London
  1999 VEAG sponsorship award of contemporary art, VEAG, BerlinPerlmutt (mit Neo Rauch), Freunde aktueller Kunst, Zwickau

Group shows

• 2023 Über Druck, Kaisertrutz, Görlitz (Germany)
  Fäden, Draiflessen Collection, Mettingen (Germany)
  Deep Deep Down, Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg
  You, Galerie Kleindienst Westside, Leipzig
  Zwickau & Co, Freunde Aktueller Kunst, Zwickau (Germany)
• 2022 Collection Collective, ACMCM Centre d'Art Contemporain, Perpignan (France)
  Bilderkosmos Leipzig. 1905-2022, Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig
  Bang! Die Rückkehr der Malerei, Galerie Noah, Augsburg (Germany)
  Kick Line. MalerinnenNetzwerk Berlin-Leipzig, Thaler Originalgrafik, Leipzig
  Girl meets girl, Kunstlaboratorium, Vestfossen (Norway)
  Competere. An Exhibition of Artist Couples, The Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus, Georgia (USA)
  Breathing Water, Drinking Air, Philara Collection, Düsseldorf
• 2021 Minerva meets Leipzig in Assen, Drents Museum, Assen (Netherlands)
  Cosmic Topologies, Knust Kunz, Munich 
  NEW, Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig
  Collection Collective ACMCM, La Marina, Valencia (Spain)
  2020 We are open, Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig
  NEW II, Westside Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig
  2019 Das Kollegium, Grafikstiftung Neo Rauch, Aschersleben (Germany)
• VOIX. MalerinnenNetzWerk Berlin-Leipzig, Museum of Visual Arts, Leipzig
• She models for her, The Shed, New York
• Meisterstück!, Zentrum für Aktuelle Kunst, Berlin
• Foreign Powers. Painting from Leipzig, Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf (Switzerland)
• The Leipzig Connection, Croatian Association of Artists (HDLU), Zagreb (Croatia)
• Feelings, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
• Recent Donations and Long-Term Loans, Museum of Modern Art Grand Duc Jean, Luxembourg
• 2018 Zeigen und Sagen, Deutsche Bundesbank Geldmuseum, Frankfurt/Main
• Painting XXL. MalerinnenNetzWerk Berlin-Leipzig, Galerie Leuenroth, Frankfurt am Main
• Eros and Thanatos. SØR Rusche Collection Oelde/Berlin, Museum Abtei Liesborn, Liesborn (Germany)
• MdbK mets G2. Painting from Leipzig since 2000, Museum of Visual Arts, Leipzig
• Nach dem Bild ist vor dem Bild, Kunstverein Freunde Aktueller Kunst, Zwickau (Germany)
• 2017 Fleming Faloon, Office Baroque, Brussels
• Ladder to Heaven, Neuer Pfaffenhofener Kunstverein, Pfaffenhofen (Germany)
• Desperate Housewives? Künstlerinnen räumen auf, Staatliches Industrie- und Textilmuseum, Augsburg
• Jetzt Druck machen, Museum Angerlehner, Thalheim / Wels (Austria)
• Under Influence, Galerie Dukan, Leipzig
• Black Sugar. 7 x contemporary printing, Städtisches Kunstmuseum Spendhaus, Reutlingen (Germany)
• 2016 Tightrope Walk: Painted Images After Abstraction, White Cube, London
• Desperate Housewives? Künstlerinnen räumen auf, Kunstsammlungen Zwickau
  Body & Soul, Klosterneuburg / Vienna
  Storyteller. Contemporary Art from Leipzig, National Art Museum & Goethe Institut Hanoi (Vietnam)
• Der Flug der Königinnen. Women at Work, ROMPONE kunstsalon, Cologne
• The Present Order, Gallery for Contemporary Art, Leipzig
  2015 Empire of the Senseless, Friedman Benda, New York
  Beuys ohne Hut. Karin Szekessy fotografiert Künstler, Horst-Janssen-Museum, Oldenburg
  Ein Zimmer für Alfred Flechtheim, Osthaus Museum Hagen
  Personalities on Paper, Ornis A. Gallery, Amsterdam
  Leipzig 2015. Sammlung Hildebrand, G2 Kunsthalle, Leipzig
  Werkschau der Spinnereikünstler, Werkschauhalle, Leipzig
  Die bessere Hälfte - Malerinnen aus Leipzig, Kunsthalle Sparkasse Leipzig
  Desperate Housewives? Künstlerinnen räumen auf, Museum Kulturspeicher, Würzburg
  Vertraute Gesellschaft, Thaler Originalgrafik, Leipzig
  Gute Kunst? Wollen! SØR Rusche Sammlung Oelde/Berlin, Auf AEG, Nürnberg
  Perlmutt, Kunstverein Freunde Aktueller Kunst, Zwickau (mit Neo Rauch)
  Wahrheiten, Museum Abtei Liesborn, Liesborn (Germany)
  2014 Ce qui je suis maintenant-Ein Zimmer für Alfred Flechtheim, Rompone Artspace, Köln
  Wahrheiten - works of SOR Rusche collection Oelde/Berlin, Bayer Kulturhaus, Leverkusen
  This side of paradise, Sotheby's Gallery S2, London
  BGL#1, Kesselhaus, Bergisch Gladbach / Cologne
  Sechse gehen durch die ganze Welt, Stephan Schrör, Berlin
  I shall stay the way I am because I do not give a damn... - Dorothee Parker, Lombard Freid Gallery, New York
  2013 Art Karlsruhe, Halle 4 P 04, Karlsruhe
  LUBOK. Graphic and book art from Leipzig, Museo de la Estampa del Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura, Toluca, (Mexico)
  Hin und weg, Art association Freunde aktueller Kunst e.V., Zwickau
  Gekauft. Acquisitions of the Graphic Collection, Museum of Visual Arts, Leipzig
  Schöne Landschaft - Bedrohte Natur. Old Masters in dialogue with contemporary art. Collection SØR Rusche Oelde/Berlin, Art hall Osnabrück
  LUBOK. Graphic and book art from Leipzig, Centro Cultural Clavijero, Morelio (Mexico)
  Der Himmel im Garten. Natur - Landschaften, Essl Museum, Schömer-Haus, Klosterneuburg/Vienna
  Jetzt hier. Contemporary art of the Kunstfonds, Art hall in Lipsiusbau, Dresden
  Tierstücke. Old Masters in dialogue with contemporary art. Collection SØR Rusche, Museum Abtei Lisborn
  LUBOK. Graphic and book art from Leipzig, Galería de Arte Contemporáneo del Teatro Isauro Martínez Torreón, Coahuila (Mexico)
  2012 Personalities on Paper, Ornis A. Gallery, Utrecht
  Sweethearts, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London
  German Now - from Leipzig, Seongnam Art Center, Seoul (Southkorea)
  Triangel, Galerie der Gegenwart, Karlsruhe
  Eros und Thanatos (SØR Rusche Collection), Werkschauhalle Leipzig
  Awardees Woldemar Winkler Price 1995-2011, Gallery Sparkasse Gütersloh
  LUBOK. Grafic and book art from Leipzig, Museo Nacional de la Estampa, Mexico City
  2011 Leipzig Painters, Gallery Baton, Seoul
  Mrs Darling's Kiss, Arch402 Gallery, London
  Convoy Leipzig, Biksady Gallery, Budapest
  Salon der Gegenwart, Elbhof Hamburg
  2010 Korso, Philara e.V., Düsseldorf
  The night, Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst
  Die unsichtbare Hand. Contemporary drawing of the collection Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst, Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst
  Korso, Werkschauhalle, Leipzig
  Nicht ohne mein…, Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig
  Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
  2009 Defiance and Melancholy, Museum Meilathi, Helsinki
  2008 Carte Blanche II, Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig and LVZ-art award + collection 2007, Leipzig
  Collection Verbundnetz Gas AG (VNG), Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig
  2007 Collective Exhibition: German stories, Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig
  Made in Leipzig - Pictures of a city, Essl Collection, Castle, Torgau
  2006 Arario Gallery, Peking
  Made in Leipzig - Pictures of a city, Essl Collection, Klosterneuburg / Vienna
  2005 A question of gesture, Opera Leipzig
  The beauty of painting, City gallery Delmenhorst
  David Zwirner, New York
  2004 Cold Hearts - Artists from Leipzig, Arario, Choongchungnam-do (Southkorea)
  New Leipzig School Painting, The Contemporary Museum, Baltimore (USA)
  East international 2004, Norwich Gallery, Norwich (G.B.)
  Happy Days are Here Again, David Zwirner Gallery, New York
  Lack Color, National art collection Dresden, Galerie Neue Meister, Albertinum, Dresden
  2003 Art Award Energy. The laureates 1992-2003, Vattenfall Europe, Cottbus
  In the middle of it. Works in dialogue, Recent acquisitions of Saxony, Art collection Chemnitz
  2002 Desired images, Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig
  2001 The Big ID, James Cohan Gallery, New York
  Intimate Expeditions, Goldrausch Project, Art association Karlsruhe

Bibliography

• 2017 Sara Thiel: Die Schöpferin der Frauen, Freie Presse, 23.1.2017
• 2016 Rosa Loy - Buch (catalog), Galerie Kleindienst and Kunstraum Innsbruck, LUBOK Leipzig
• Andreas Platthaus: Bunte Bahnen flattern, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), 14.5.2016
  Susanne Hermannski: Der Garten im Inneren, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 4.3.2016
  Ivona Jelcic: Rätselhafte Mythen für die Mythen in uns, Tiroler Tageszeitung, 6.2.2016
  Grace-Yvette Gemmell: Rosa Loy's Figurative Paintings Construct Mythical Female Narratives, artsy.net, 1.2.2016
  Olivia Parkes: The Artist Making Paintings Tht Are Part Fairy Taile, Part Propaganda, Broadly, 30.4.2016
• 2015 Barry Schwabsky: Tight Rope Walk (catalog), White Cube, London
  Katarzyna Mol-Wolf: Katarzyna trifft... Rosa Loy, emotion, 07/2015
  Bettina Musall: Spiegel Geschichte, DER SPIEGEL, 22/2015
  Ina Ewers-Schulz / Martina Padberg: Desperate Housewives? (catalog), Museum Kulturspeicher, Würzburg
• Sabine Morbach: Einfach Rosa, einfach stark, Reichenhaller Tageblatt, 30.11.2016
  2014 Rosa Loy - Green Heart (catalog), Gallery Baton, Seoul (South Korea)
  Herlinde Kölbl: Rosa Loy: Das war meine Rettung, ZEIT online, 12.04.2014
  Michaela Kühn: Rosa Loy. Die neue Weiblichkeit, The Heritage Post, 03/2014
  Laura Thomson: A conversation with Rosa Loy, Ocula, 05.10.2015
  Aus naher Ferne - Rosa Loy, AmsterdamArt.com, September 2014
  2013 Rosa Loy - Mäander (catalog), Gallery Kleindienst, Leipzig
  Rosa Loy - Souvenir (catalog), McClain Gallery, Houston (USA)
  Meredith Deliso: Rosa Loy's beautiful befiddling at McClain Gallery, Houston Press, 11.02.2013
  Anna Sticksel: Rosa loy und ihre Frauen, Suprime Mag, 17.06.2013
  2012 Rosa Loy - Gravitation / Neo Rauch - Abwägung (catalog), Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz
  Rosa Loy - Sonde (catalog), Sparda-Bank Stuttgart
  Doppelschau: Neo Rauch und Rosa Loy in Chemnitz, Frankfurter Rundschau, 15.12.2012
  Matthias Zwarg: Rosa Loy und Neo Rauch - ein unvergleichliches Paar, Freie Presse, 17.12.2012
  Jürgen Kleindienst: Glück und Schmerz, LVZ, 15./16.12.2012
  Julia Löhr: Ach, Sie malen auch?, FAZ, 01./02.12.2012
  Rosa Loy - Mein Hain (catalog), Kunstverein Rosenheim / Gallery Kleindienst, Leipzig
  Alex Needham: Artist sweethearts team up to create labour of love, The Guardian, 20.03.2012
  The most creative couples in art, PHAIDON.com, 21.03.2012
  Kerstin Walker: Ich wachte auf und war glücklich. Meine Eltern hatten sich wiedergefunden, ZEIT online, 20.08.2012
  Barry Schwabsky: Rosa Loy, Artforum, May 2012
  2011 Nicola Kuhn: Die Kunst, ein Paar zu sein, Der Tagesspiegel, 02.01.11
  Rosa Loy - Manna (catalog), Kunsthalle Gießen
  Behind the Gardens - Neo Rauch & Rosa Loy (catalog), Collection Essl, Klosterneuburg
  Almuth Spiegler: Behutsamer Paarlauf, ART Magazin, November 2011
  His&Hers, VOGUE, September 2011
  Rose-Marie Gropp: Bella Figura, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), 05.06.2011
  Dort lauern die Ungeheuer - Rosa Loy und Neo Rauch im Interview, LVZ online, 01.09.2011
  2010 Tinka Dippel: Malen, Wand an Wand, Brigitte, 16/2011
  Jelängerjelieber (catalog), Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig
  2009 Tony Godfrey: Painting today, Phaidon, London
  Ulrike Knöfel: Disteln und Heilpflanzen, DER SPIEGEL 19/2009
  Uta Baier: Gegen die Tradition, Die Welt, 30.09.2009
  Die Nacht (catalog), Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst (Germany)
  2008 Charley Finch: Close to me, André Schlechtriem Contemporary
  Lisa Yuskavage: About Rosa Loy, Close to me
  2007 Emma Talbot: Neo-Narrative Painting and the Work of Rosa Loy, Garageland, 04/2007
  2006 Rosa Loy - Almanach (catalog), Oldenburger Kunstverein
  Charlie Finch: Babes in Loyland, Artnet
  Goings on About Town, The New Yorker
  Made in Leipzig - Bilder aus einer Stadt (catalog), Collection Essl, Klosterneuburg/Vienna
  Meinhard Michael: Schule des Traums, Leipziger Volkszeitung (LVZ)
  Roberta Smith: Art in Review: Neun Wege, The New York Times
  Elisha Smith-Liverock: Rosa Loy, Bon Magazine
  2005 Heinz-Norbert Jocks: Rosa Loy, Art Forum International (catalog), Galerie der Stadtsparkasse Gütersloh
  2004 EAST International 2004, Norwich Gallery, Norwich (UK)
  2003 Rosa Loy - Die Verbündeten (catalog), Kunstsammlungen Gera / Kunstsammlungen der städtischen Museen Zwickau, Gera (Germany)
  2002 Susanne Altmann: Die Primzahl zwei, Kreuzer, Leipzig
  2001 Tanja Beuthin: Reportage, Marie Claire
  Neal Brown: Review: Rosa Loy, Frieze
  2000 Marc Glöde: 567 Doppelgängige (Pflanzen-) Welt, Blitz Review
  Phil Johnson: Cabbage Patch Dolls..., The Independent on Sunday, London
  Petra Lewey: She is so beautiful, Aktuelle Malerei aus Sachsen und Thüringen (catalog), Städtisches Museum Zwickau
  Rachel Withers: Rosa Loy: Art Forum International, 11/2000
  1999 A little bit of... im Eiscafe, Zwickauer Blick
  Annie Bardon: Die rätselhaften Schönheiten der Rosa Loy, VEAG Förderpreis für Malerei (catalog), VEAG Berlin
  Phil Johnson: Reality Doesn't Bite, The Independent, London
  Lynda Morris: Aura, Pictures to Pictures (catalog), Arnolfini Bristol, Norwich Gallery, Norwich (GB)
  1998 Peter Guth: Schönheit und Schrecken des Kurbades, Leipziger Volkszeitung (LVZ)
  Harald Kunde: Doppelleben, Goldrausch 9, Marstall, Berlin
  1997 Lust und Last (catalog), Germanisches Museum Nürnberg / Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig