Page 138 - WOA9-eMag

CORE NO. 272, 2019 OIL ON CANVAS 51.1X47.2 IN. | 130 X 120 CM. The core is the longing for the existential.
INVITED ARTIST CORE NO. 305, 2019 OIL ON CANVAS 64.9X43.3 IN. | 165 X 110 CM. >
CORE NO 341, 2019 OIL ON CANVAS 43.3X39.3 IN. | 110 X 100 CM.

HEIKEDINE GÜNTHER

Lives and works in Basel, Switzerland
https://heikedineguenther.com/

Heikedine Günther is an abstract, intercultural painter who lives
and works in Basel and Stalden since 2009. Her artistic leitmotif
is the „core“. She is born in 1966 in rural East Westphalia. In
1982 she meets Joseph Beuys and takes part in his project of
the „7000 Oaks“on the occasion of Documenta 7 in Kassel. The
encounter with Beuys is a key experience, which radically opens
Günthers approach to art. She is fascinated by his handling of
natural materials, like fat, felt and hair. She then studies art in New
York, followed by studies with Werner Büttner and Franz Erhart
Walter at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg and with Martin
Kippenberger in Kassel. After working as a figurative artist, she
paints her first abstract „core“ in 2004. This proves to be another
key moment. From then on, she dedicates her entire artistic work
to the potential of the core. The titles of the core images consist in
consequence of the consecutive catalog numbers.

The archetypal form of the core can be found throughout the
centuries and cultures. It combines in itself microcosmic and
macrocosmic relations: the core is represented in every single
biological cell of our bodies. At the same time, it is the basic form
of every planet of the cosmic system. This universal openness
of meaning creates the possibility to connect with the core on a
multitude of levels. The viewers can relate themselves with the
notion of the core, regardless of their own biographical and cultural
backgrounds. For Günther herself, the fascination of the core
archetype lies primarily in creating images as an anchorage of the
inner self. The core embodies for her the centering to the essential
base of our existence, within an ever more complex world. The
search for the archetype of the core, the innermost cell that holds
everything together, leads Günther to an intense research and
engagement with historical art practices. Her works are represented
in numerous international collections and exhibitions.

138 WORLD of ART