Interview: Heikedine Günther
Luca Curci talks with Heikedine Günther during RITUALS, first appointment of the ANIMA MUNDI 2022 art fair, at Palazzo Bembo.

Heikedine Günther is a contemporary Swiss artist working with the leitmotif of the Core. She is a painter, printer, and sculptor who draws on the connection of abstraction and natural forms as well as the concepts of microcosm and macrocosm. The Core is a symbol of potential and the longing for the existential. After an Active Imagination based on C.G. Jung’s theories in 2004, she started painting the Core. Her multi-layered core paintings have a strong recognition value and made it into many international exhibitions and collections. The works benefit from Günther’s broad knowledge of traditional Old Masters’ techniques and her dedicated interest in poly-cultural symbols.

Luca Curci – What is art for you?
Heikedine Günther – For me art is a master, teaching me continuously new ways to see and contemplate. It enables me to connect with my inner self and can stir both: meditative calm like boundless energy. Art makes me realize a deeper understanding of myself and allows me to translate the complex flow of inspirations, thoughts, and feelings into an individual language of colors and shapes.

LC – What’s your background? What is the experience that has influenced your work the most?
HG – I am at a point in my life where I know what I want and can reflect on what brought me here. As a young woman, I met Joseph Beuys and I studied fine arts. I raised three children and gained 20 years of expertise in medieval manuscripts, which turned out to be one of the biggest influences on my art.

LC – Where do you find your inspiration?
HG – I am inspired by the connection of abstraction and natural forms as well as the relation between microcosm and macrocosm. The search for the archetype of the core, the innermost cell that holds everything together between microcosm and macrocosm, leads me to an intensive examination of historical art practices and intercultural symbols.

LC – How do you feel when you see your work completed?
HG – Often, a work goes through many stages before it can be considered complete. Painting is a journey for me, and finishing the process of creation is just the beginning of something new. Therefore I see the magic moment of completion as the energy of every new beginning.

LC – What do you think about the concept of this exhibition? How did it inspire you?
HG – The concept of the ANIMA MUNDI – RITUALS exhibition connects very well to the theme of my series Shapes & Spaces. I had already been working on the series when I got to know about the topic of the exhibition. Shapes & Spaces addresses the cosmic system of interrelations throughout life, all being and becoming. Rituals, rhythms, and cycles reoccur and connect beyond time and space. This invisible energy behind all elements is what not at least also connects the concept of ANIMA MUNDI and Shapes & Spaces with the beautiful factor of coincidence.

LC – Can you explain something about the artworks you have in our exhibition?
HG – Shapes & Spaces which I show at this exhibition is my latest series of works and I am glad to present it for the first time at Palazzo Bembo. The set of 28 works is painted with ink on a special handmade paper. In the series, I artistically explore the complex and sometimes hidden structures that surround us. Each artwork itself plays with the idea of visibility and invisibility since the back of the work is an integrative part of the front as well. Together their spaces of color open up like windows to a metaphysical world and invite one to lose in their depth and endless gradients.

LC – Do you think ITSLIQUID GROUP can represent an opportunity for artists?
HG – I definitely think that ITSLIQUID GROUP can represent an opportunity for artists. And I am here to partake in this opportunity. Your approach brings together art, design, and architecture – and therefore enables a wide spectrum of artistic exchange with an international audience.

LC – Did you enjoy cooperating with us?
HG – The cooperation with ITSLIQUID GROUP was a great experience for me and I want to thank the whole team for its tremendous efforts. I am glad how the installation of my work turned out. It can be tricky to install such a massive wall of numerous works, but your team made it possible with ease.

LC – What do you think about the organization of our event?
HG – Everything from our first contact to the final presentation was very professional. Therefore I am very happy with the organization of the event and to see my works presented in such an incredible location as the beautiful Palazzo Bembo, in which the historical architecture and contemporary art create a fascinating dialogue.