PORTFOLIO
HEIKEDINE GÜNTHER
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The Kern is the core the viewer perceives. In the German language Kern has a double-meaning: THE CORE AS SEED & THE CORE REPRESENTING THE SELF Heikedine Günther paints in a traditional manner and sets her oeuvre into a contemporary context. Since 2004 the artist is working on the subject of The Core (Kern). Presenting the “meaningful core“ with all its potential is an ever returning snapshot of the moment. How and when the core will unfold is an open ended question. It is the moment of hope the artist projects onto the canvas. “Art is an applied form of the emotional state. Colour is symbolic language; it communicates and approaches the spectator from the outside.” Colours inhabit their own symbolic language. The areas of colour within the core as well as in its radius are corresponding, while communicating with the spectator. |
Kern No. 279 - Oil on Canvas - May 2017 - 150x120cm
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Looking at the core paintings there is no immediate insight into the multi-layered nature of the art work. Each viewer might comprehend and interpret the depiction’s different levels individually and access the creation personally.
The beholder has to access the core created by the artist, towards the interior as well as the exterior, towards top and bottom and beyond the horizon.
The beholder has to access the core created by the artist, towards the interior as well as the exterior, towards top and bottom and beyond the horizon.
The core is the expression of a transitory state, slumbering, relaxing, constricted, frozen, breathing, pulsating and breaking open. The core is waiting for the perfect moment to unfold and to break through into a new space.
Kern No. 276 - Oil on Canvas - December 2016 - 100x100cm
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Kern No. 246 - Oil on Canvas - August 2016 - 100x100cm
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Shape and colour reflect the artist’s envisaged affectivity - an emotional snapshot, a moment that shows the core - or the self - in its colour spectrum. The artist is inspired by music that evokes memories of past live stages. There is no pre-determined colouring process, but the decision of the present moment to mix a particular colour and to harmonize it with the already existing coats of paint.
The circle is the oldest symbol in the world and a shape accessible for all cultures, thus, the core is a universal emblem.
It can stand for a basic nourishment, like a grain of rice, a grain of wheat, an egg, a corn grain, a bean or a potato. It can also be a cell, the beginning of all life, the world and the universe, it can stand for a halo we know from representations of saints.
All the paintings are titled “Kern” (Core).
The circle is the oldest symbol in the world and a shape accessible for all cultures, thus, the core is a universal emblem.
It can stand for a basic nourishment, like a grain of rice, a grain of wheat, an egg, a corn grain, a bean or a potato. It can also be a cell, the beginning of all life, the world and the universe, it can stand for a halo we know from representations of saints.
All the paintings are titled “Kern” (Core).
The works are inspired by years of engaging in medieval manuscripts. Quite often the colour schemes of 10th century Ottonian book illustrations can be found in the depictions whose shapes and colours the artist abstracts. Moreover she transforms spiritual representation into a secular picture.
Ottonisch, Gregormeister, ca. 985, Trier ------------------> Heikedine Günther, Kern No. 283, 2017, 120x140cm, Oil on Canvas
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The artist is inspired by antique art, introducing the nimbus or the mandorla – a divine symbol – in her works. These signs can be found in all religions. The artist is looking for inspiration in nature and diverse cultural circles; her interests and collecting areas are Tribal Art, Oceanic, simple, pure and symbolically relevant art objects and colourful Silk Ikat Robes from Usbekistan. “Colours quench my longing for a deeper meaning”. (H.G.) |
Kern No. 276 - Oil on Canvas - May 2017 - 110x140cm
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A core image with horizon is pointing at the core’s potential to grow beyond the horizon and to occupy a new space. |
Kern No. 116 - Oil on Canvas - April 2016 - 110x80cm
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An image with two or more cores reveals the singularity of each core. They look almost alike, but their nature is unique. |
Kern No. 228 - Oil on Canvas - July 2016 - 110x80cm
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Unique Prints are monotypes made by the artist. A core that has been painted with fresh oil paint, is covered with a textile fleece and rubbed off by hand. Thus each single layer of paint becomes documented. A five-layered core image thus produces five unique prints at best. These are titled “P – (Print) - a – (1) – Kern No. ...” |
Unique Prints, Kern No. P-c 269 - Oil on Fleece - 2017 - 124x140cm
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The boundaries of the various colour layers lie either very close together or are overlapping, like dermal layers. Looking closer the observer will discover the multi-layered nature of the core, down to the golden prime coat. Occasionally the cores are torn on the surface and break off metaphorically. Frequently the core’s body is surrounded by a shimmering aureole. The core’s habitat creates the course of the various levels. |
Ausschnitt - Kern No. 276 - Oil on Canvas - December 2016 - 100x100cm
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Technique: the core depictions are painted on canvas or jute. All paintings have a gold base that serves as reflection surface. The “matured” core is drawn on to this surface. Heikedine Günther works with wide paintbrushes, precise and sweeping. She does not just use her hands to paint, but employs a dynamic swinging motion from her hips and shoulders.
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A core painting consists of at least 3-7 layers of paint; the different layers are pulled with a textile fleece to increase the amount of structures on the surface. The applied paints consist of oil paints, pigments, poppy oil, resins and other binding agents. Layer upon layer the colours become more translucent so that the underlaying coats still take effect. By using high quality pigments the intensity of the colours is retained. Heikedine Günther's paintings embody a high recognition value, their own philosophy and a universal access to the viewer. |
Kern No. 255 - Oil on Canvas - May 2017 - 110x110cm
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Each painting bears on its reverse side a specific documentation of the various individual layers and information on the work (name, title, date, size, signature).
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FUTURE OUTLOOK
Other projects are planned:
- Production of core books, printed on specially made “healing earth paper” (medicinal clay).
- Creation of oversized felt kernels which enable the viewer to visually penetrate down to the golden core. These objects will be produced at high mountain lakes, in Tibet and Switzerland. The process of their making will be shown in a documentary.
CURRICULUM VITAE
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Heikedine Günther was born in East Westfalia in 1966. She grew up in a rural area surrounded by her large family. Nature and the domestic garden provided her playgrounds. When she was 16 years of age H. G. met the charismatic artist Joseph Beuys in Kassel. She took part in the project 7000 Oaks at Documenta 7 in Kassel (1982). After leaving school she attended Manhattanville College in New York and then furthered her education at the HFBK in Hamburg studying under Werner Büttner and Franz Erhart Walther. Simultaneously she completed a degree as a guest student in Kassel under Martin Kippenberger’s supervision. |
Heikedine Günther
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Group Exhibitions (1989-1991)
Westwerk - Hamburg
Kampnagel - Hamburg
Annual Exhibition HFBK - Hamburg
Erotic Art Museum - Hamburg
Art in Public Spaces - Hannover
1991, directly after the “turnaround”, the artist moved to Berlin. During her time there she worked in various creative areas and painted guratively. In 2004 she produced her first core painting. Until this day Heikedine Günther is dedicated to the topic core (self). In 2009 the artist moved to Switzerland, where she lives and works both in Basel and near Lucerne.
In 2014 the artist decided to devote her live exclusively to art again.
In 2014 the artist decided to devote her live exclusively to art again.
Exhibitions (2015-May 2017)
Galery Niklaus Knöll Basel - December 2015
Berliner Liste /Berlin Art Fair - Berlin September 2016
Herzog Foundation - Basel January 2017
Produzenten Gallery - Berlin February 2017
Grand Palais, Salon Intern. du Livre Rare & de l‘Objet d’art - Paris, April 2017
Grand Palais, Paris
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Fondation Herzog, Basel
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