Bernhard Rauch
With Bernhard Rauch’s exhibition, the Galerie im Chiemgauhof brings abstract painting with an extraordinary materiality to Lake Chiemsee – large-scale works in which colour, texture and surface create a powerful spatial presence. From September 2026
Bernhard Rauch’s abstract works arise from the interplay of colour, material and texture. Acrylic meets paper, sand, fragments of rock and other three-dimensional elements. Layer by layer, surfaces develop that go far beyond traditional painting on canvas, lending the works an almost sculptural quality.
His series of works – RELIEF, BAHNEN, GRANULAR and PLANAR – demonstrate different approaches to this exploration. At times, pronounced elevations and relief-like landscapes emerge; at others, tranquil bands, transparent layering or dense, grainy structures. What they all share is the openness of abstraction: the paintings do not dictate any particular interpretation, but change with the viewer’s perspective, the light and the space.
His series of works – RELIEF, BAHNEN, GRANULAR and PLANAR – demonstrate different approaches to this exploration. At times, pronounced elevations and relief-like landscapes emerge; at others, tranquil bands, transparent layering or dense, grainy structures. What they all share is the openness of abstraction: the paintings do not dictate any particular interpretation, but change with the viewer’s perspective, the light and the space.
Colour. Texture. Space.
About the artist
Bernhard Rauch was born in Nabburg in the Upper Palatinate in 1952 and lives and works in Regensburg. He has been devoting himself to painting for around 25 years. Alongside his artistic work, he practises as a solicitor and is a professor of construction, architectural and public procurement law.
At the heart of his art lies experimentation with materials and surfaces. His large-format, abstract works and his use of relief-like structures are particularly characteristic. At times, sculptural elements protrude distinctly from the canvas; at others, transparency, colour and different materials create calmer, finely layered pictorial spaces.
Rauch’s works have been exhibited in Venice, Munich and Wiesbaden, amongst other places. In 2025, he exhibited his works at Artexpo New York; this led to a collaboration with the DAT Gallery in New York. In Regensburg, he is also a co-founder of the Gallery Panta Rhei, a venue for contemporary art, science and dialogue. At the Chiemgauhof, his material-focused works interact with the building’s clean-lined architecture and the tranquil atmosphere of Lake Chiemsee.
Home - Bernhard Rauch
At the heart of his art lies experimentation with materials and surfaces. His large-format, abstract works and his use of relief-like structures are particularly characteristic. At times, sculptural elements protrude distinctly from the canvas; at others, transparency, colour and different materials create calmer, finely layered pictorial spaces.
Rauch’s works have been exhibited in Venice, Munich and Wiesbaden, amongst other places. In 2025, he exhibited his works at Artexpo New York; this led to a collaboration with the DAT Gallery in New York. In Regensburg, he is also a co-founder of the Gallery Panta Rhei, a venue for contemporary art, science and dialogue. At the Chiemgauhof, his material-focused works interact with the building’s clean-lined architecture and the tranquil atmosphere of Lake Chiemsee.
Home - Bernhard Rauch