Gönül Sen-Menzel: Her Student Alper Kara Paints with Passion

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Chorweiler. By day, Alper Kara works for a large car manufacturer in the north of Cologne. In the evenings he picks up his brush, mixes his own paints and puts his thoughts on canvas.

So many pictures have accumulated in the meantime that he had to rent a garage as a storeroom. Kara is now presenting 18 of his varied works in the foyer of the Handwerkerhof until April 27, on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (except Easter), where he will be available in person for conversation.

The 44-year-old Cologne native has always been interested in art. “Even as a schoolboy I loved experimenting with pastels in the school workshop.” He really came to painting in 1997, when he became a student of the artist Edip Ergun. Later, Kara deepened his painting techniques with Gönül Sen-Menzel. “These two artists taught me painting from A to Z,” says the father of two. He describes his style as modern Expressionism that moves between Orient and Occident. His favorite colors, blue and violet, often appear in his works. Kara has also taken lessons in life drawing. “That is very helpful. Life drawing is ideal for an artist to learn to paint proportions from memory.”

The pictures depict events that Kara still remembers well. “One picture shows a scene at a wedding party, where I noticed a group of guests who, from my point of view, somehow didn’t fit in. In another picture I was surrounded by a crowd of people rushing through a shopping center in a buying frenzy.”

But besides the past, his acrylic works also reflect thoughts about the future. “I think a lot about what will be one day and then try to express that in my pictures.”

For the opening of what is now his fifth exhibition, framed by introductory words from district mayor Cornelie Wittsack-Junge and music by saxophonist Till Heinzelmann, Kara welcomed not only friends and family but also members of the artists’ group “Költür”. Kara has also joined this twelve-member group which, as the name suggests, consists mainly of people from Cologne and Turks. They exchange ideas and plan joint activities. “In the summer we all want to hold a big painting event together,” Kara reveals. (hoe)

Original caption: Alper Kara describes his style as modern Expressionism moving between Orient and Occident.