Gönül Sen-Menzel: Colorful Pictures of Happiness and New Love

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The works from 2000 by the Cologne artist Gönül Sen are pictures of happiness.

Since Sunday she has been showing her optimistic landscapes and figures for the sixth time at the gallery of Gerda Türke, with whom the 51-year-old has now enjoyed a friendship of 15 years. The prolific artist is showing almost 60 pictures from this year in the exhibition.

New love, new happiness, many new pictures: Gönül Sen’s cheerfulness carries over directly into her acrylic works. Birds and fabulous creatures sit in imaginative landscapes; pairs of figures convey energy and movement. The Cologne artist has put the couples on canvas with a dynamic brushstroke. Gönül Sen is interested in variations of movement, form and color and in experimenting with new techniques: the pictures in a series are similar only in motif and mood. Gönül Sen paints her happiness onto the canvas with particular exuberance in a homage to the new man in her life.

The light-flooded, colorful landscapes are cheerful works too. When she paints, Gönül Sen carries in her heart the sun of her homeland Turkey, where the 51-year-old lived until 1981. These pictures express a great deal of southern ease.

The Cologne artist always listens to music while painting. Mostly classical and new music, preferably Satie or Stockhausen. She transfers the rhythm to her imaginative pictures – and mixes in a large portion of joie de vivre. (JG)

Galerie Türke, Johannesstraße 8a: “Pictures 2000” by Gönül Sen, Sept. 3–Oct. 14, Tue–Sat 3–7 p.m.

Original caption: For the sixth time, Gönül Sen is exhibiting her optimistic, colorful pictures at Galerie Türke.