Gönül Sen-Menzel: Art Christmas Market of the Köl-Tür Group

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Weiler-Volkhoven. The artists of the “Köl-Tür” group celebrated Christmas at their art market on Volkhovener Weg.

The art Christmas market was a group exhibition at which the artists also combined typical Christmas market items with their art. There were annual calendars whose monthly pages were one-of-a-kind, and imaginative felt works.

“The name alludes to a Turkish variant of the word ‘culture’ and at the same time to the location, Cologne,” explained Gönül Sen-Menzel, who has led the group for more than 15 years and has made room for it to work in her studio. Sen-Menzel studied art in Istanbul and at the academy in Düsseldorf. Among the group’s otherwise mostly untrained artists, she is regarded as a mentor and teacher.

“It’s nice that she takes on the stress of leading our group. She doesn’t really need to,” said Irmel Pepperhoff, who came all the way from Düsseldorf to visit the group’s Christmas market. Next to small watercolors by the Turkish-born artist Alper Kara lie ink drawings by the German artist Gerda Türke. Visitors walked slowly and silently around the exhibition tables as the author Guido Mosler read from his works.

“We try to combine things: German and Turkish tradition and art, and the arts with one another,” said Sen-Menzel. But the group’s focus is on painting, in which the most varied styles come together. As their next event, the artists have in mind a “floor painting” event, which, like their last “car painting” event, is to take place in the summer. She hopes to find sponsors for it at the Christmas market of the arts.

Original caption: Wherever you looked: art, art and more art.