Gönül Sen-Menzel at the Kunst(t)räume Chorweiler

Read the German original ↗
This article was published in German. The original text opens in a new tab in the German section of this website.

An exhibition of the “Kunst(t)räume Chorweiler” initiative is currently taking place in the center of Chorweiler. Artists from the Chorweiler Art network present thought-provoking works.

Chorweiler. Anyone familiar with the bustle at the City Center on an ordinary shopping day knows what pausing and calm mean in these surroundings. That usually happens on one of the benches in the wide aisles between the shops or in one of the cafés. Another opportunity is currently offered by several booths whose outer and inner walls display works by artists from the Chorweiler Art network.

The exhibition, as colorful as it is profound, is taking place as part of the “Kunst(t)räume Chorweiler” initiative, which already turned the City Center into a temporary gallery zone last year. At the time, the event was so well received by the artists, the public and the City Center’s management that there was no doubt it would continue.

(…)

Abstract-expressive depiction likewise defines the painterly passion of Arslan Saziye. Especially in her water paintings, she builds a bridge between her Anatolian homeland and Cologne, where she moved with her husband at the age of 15. And Ewa Salwinki says of her art: “For five years at the academy I drew and modeled nothing but naked male bodies. I am still working on that, even though I now depict people only as contours,” says the Polish-born painter and sculptor. She has lived in Chorweiler for a long time. Her strong attachment to the district prompted her, together with her colleague Wolf-Dürr, to offer painting games in various kindergartens and at the City Center during the Kunst(t)räume exhibition.

Bringing a Facade to Life with Flowers

An understanding of art does not fall from the sky; it has to be taught, she knows. That is why guided tours of the exhibition are offered on several days; the times are available at the City Center information desk. Art has to go out into everyday life. That is where it unfolds its greatest power. From this idea, Bernward Prinz and Gerd Maulbecker, together with district mayor Cornelie Wittsack-Junge, developed the idea of livening up the facade of the dreary high-rise at Florenzer Straße 32 with large, colorful flower abstractions. The painted objects are attached to the balconies and their arrangement can be changed. Like no other, their artwork symbolizes the motto of these days of action: “Chorweiler Blooms”.

Gönül Sen-Menzel pursues the same approach of carrying art into everyday life. In a painting performance in the middle of Pariser Platz, she captured the movements of a dancer on dozens of canvases. She made painting tangible without taking away its magic.

Just a few steps away, in the foyer of the Bürgerhaus Chorweiler, the sculptor Josef Cali completes the exhibition circuit of the “Kunst(t)räume Chorweiler” with his stone sculptures of biblical motifs and worldly obsessions. In addition, David Binder’s painterly kaleidoscope can still be seen at the Handwerkerhof on Athener Ring.

Original caption: Gönül Sen-Menzel paints pictures in a few minutes, in “real time”.