Gönül Sen-Menzel: “Images of People” Beneath Layers of Lacquer

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“Images of People” are at the center of her new exhibition at Galerie Türke.

In an appealing pictorial language, the Turkish-born artist Gönül Sen also depicts the essence of trees or a piece of garden. Her pictures are situated between free forms of expression and figurative elements. In the images of people, she has whole families march up. She sets tall upright figures, smaller ones and tiny ones in relation to one another. They wear no clothes and show their muscles, but they are not nudes. Except for two expressive portraits in garish colors, all the images of people are faceless; rather, they seem to express the face of the society in which they live. They do not, however, give the impression of dissecting, biting criticism.

The radiant, sometimes more subdued colors give them a certain cheerfulness, although they are not “wholesome” pictures. With them, the artist penetrates deep into emotional worlds and levels of relationship. The carefree use of paint – including glossy nail polish, a kind of lacquer or spray – creates interesting textures, but sometimes lets the message and the exciting formal language take a back seat to the gimmick. (S.K.)

Galerie Türke, Johannesstraße 8 a: New pictures by Gönül Sen, until April 18 (Tue–Sat 3–7 p.m.).

Original caption: Gönül Sen in her exhibition at Galerie Türke.