Gönül Sen-Menzel Decisively Shaped the Art Scene in the North of Cologne

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Volkhoven. Gönül Sen-Menzel played a decisive part in shaping the art scene in the north of Cologne.

She left her mark on the art project “Kunst(T)räume Chorweiler”. In 1983 she founded the international artists’ group KÖL-TÜR, an abbreviation standing for Cologne (Köln) and Turkey (Türkei). She was an artist highly regarded by experts. She died in her studio on March 29, 2014, four days before her 65th birthday.

A few months later, her son, Dr. William Sen, invited friends and artists to a memorial exhibition. Many artist friends and members of KÖL-TÜR came, old friends such as the couple Hatun and Ali Demir, and even the Consul General of the Republic of Turkey, Hüseyin Emre Engin, with his wife Meral, came to say a final farewell to a remarkable woman.

In front of her studio, a wreath and an eternal light still commemorate the German-Turkish painter, who studied art at the Teachers’ College in Istanbul and, in the early 1980s, completed further studies at the Düsseldorf Art Academy as a master student.

She worked as an art teacher for nine years and illustrated a bilingual series of Vita children’s books for the educational publisher Anadolu. From 2009 she pursued a doctorate while lecturing at the Faculty of Cultural Studies in Paderborn.

But her doctoral thesis, which dealt with the development of art in Turkey, remains unfinished. Her son says: “She had already gathered a huge amount of material. I haven’t been able to go through everything yet, but there are some highly interesting interviews among it.” For now, he will put her paintings into storage. He has already digitized a large part of them and will gradually put them online. “My great dream is that all of her works will one day hang all over the world,” he admits. He has already donated one painting to the synagogue in Ehrenfeld, and one is soon to hang in Istanbul. The City Museum has been approached, and other cultural venues are to follow. “There will continue to be exhibitions,” Dr. Sen promises.

“A defining trait of Gönül Sen-Menzel was her strong sense of justice and her commitment to the disadvantaged. She campaigned for women’s rights, against oppression and for children, and showed remarkable moral courage,” reads the press release of the Chorweiler District Council. Her studio was always open to everyone. A special feature of her work was painting movement in real time. In several of her performances she captured dancers on canvas, for example in 2013 in the European Capital of Culture Marseille and on Pariser Platz in Chorweiler.

“I find her ability to bring different cultures together, in art as well, truly remarkable. She broadened our horizons,” says Cornelie Wittsack-Junge in tribute to the great artist, adding: “And it would surely be in her spirit if the KÖL-TÜR group continues to exist.”

Original caption: Gönül Sen-Menzel inspired people with her works.