Gönül Sen-Menzel: Small Artist, Large Landscapes

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City center. The artist Gönül Sen looks extremely petite, especially in front of her large, extremely elongated landscapes.

Her dark, single-colored clothing at the press appointment also contrasts with the exceedingly colorful portraits and landscapes. Since Saturday, the artist – born in ’49 – has once again been exhibiting a number of her works in Dortmund: at Galerie Gerda Türke on Johannesstraße.

Gönül Sen has lived in Germany for eleven years. After studying art in Turkey and working as an art teacher for ten years, she came to Germany in 1981 for political reasons. The Turkish artist continued her studies with Professor Schiff at the Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1983 to 1989. She has since taken part in around 50 solo and group exhibitions.

Gönül Sen works together with her husband Sabahattin Sen, also a painter, in a small studio. Some of her long landscapes were created in the corridor of the artists’ building.

Gönül Sen paints freely and differently each time. Color and composition are important to her. After long conceptual deliberation, her pictures then often come into being very quickly. In her mind she pre-paints, as it were, on the street and everywhere; in the studio, portraits and landscapes are then created from memory.

Nevertheless, her speed surprises again and again: during a belly-dance performance she produces 50 sketches within two hours.

In the exhibition at Gerda Türke’s, the three long landscapes stand out in particular: 4 meters, 4.80 meters and 7.20 meters long – each assembled from five or even six single pictures, each of which can also stand on its own in terms of composition. Twelve smaller landscapes, a studio scene, ten small and two large portraits complete the show. The small pictures were created only a few weeks ago, in agreement with the gallerist.

Gallerist Gerda Türke first made contact with the artist couple Gönül and Sabahattin Sen in 1984 at the Bergkamen picture bazaar. They have already exhibited in Türke’s old gallery “Kleines Kunst-Kabinett” on Große Heimstraße.

At Johannesstraße 8a, Gönül Sen’s works can be seen until May 3: the gallery is open on Thursdays from 5 to 8:30 p.m., Saturdays from 4 to 8:30 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Original caption: After time-consuming conceptual deliberation – virtually everywhere – the Turkish artist’s portraits and landscapes come into being extremely quickly in the studio, painted from memory.