An Exhibition Honoring the Cologne Artist
Who could have guessed that the exhibition at GULLIVER, planned after a studio visit in early 2014, would become a memorial exhibition? Gönül Sen-Menzel died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 29, 2014.
Gönül Sen-Menzel was a Turkish-German painter with a charisma fueled by boundless creativity. Her powerful, colorful painting was often a sensitive blend of concrete landscape imagery, laced with longing and vivid memories of her imaginary homeland – a kind of landscape of the soul, perhaps Anatolia, or simply the open expanse somewhere in Turkey or somewhere in the world.
Over the last 25 years, her studio in Volkhoven/Weiler became a place where people met. In 1983 she founded the international artists’ group KÖL-TÜR, an example of successful integration and a meeting point that sparked many creative ideas and events. In this way she played a decisive part in shaping the art scene in the north of Cologne. In her final years, one focus of her work was painting movement in real time. In open-air performances she captured dancers on canvas, as in 2013 in the European Capital of Culture Marseille and on Pariser Platz in Chorweiler.
Gönül Sen-Menzel studied art at the Teachers’ College in Istanbul. She also studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, graduating as a master student. She exhibited in more than 200 renowned galleries worldwide, worked as an art teacher and wrote children’s books.
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.
The GULLIVER exhibition honors the painter and shows a small part of her work, with pieces selected jointly for this exhibition. Special thanks go to Gönül Sen-Menzel’s son, Dr. William Sen, who made this exhibition possible.
Exhibition Details
Opening reception: Friday, January 23, 2015, 7 p.m.
Runs until: April 12, 2015
Venue: Überlebensstation GULLIVER, Trankgasse 20, 50667 Cologne, Germany (railway arch 1, Hohenzollern Bridge)
Welcome: Pastor Karl-Heinz Iffland, Protestant chaplain for the homeless in Cologne and chairman of KALZ e.V.
Greeting: Lale Akgün, author and friend of the artist
Introduction: Elvira Reith (curator)
Host: KALZ e.V. (Cologne Center for the Unemployed)
Organization: Karo-Dame Kulturprojekte
Official invitation (PDF, German)
