Interpretation

Gudrun Dorsch’s works encompass the world of the unconscious, non-verbal communication through movement. She uses the symbolic power of the spiral – a symbol for the beginning and the end. Her paintings and drawings show charismatic persons, composed of ribbons. Physical and psychological boundaries of the human being, but also names, translations, traditions, and word puns inspire her in her work. The places herself within the enigmatic realism, a style in which the obvious is veiled, hidden, disguised and mysteries are understood as part of human existence.

The spiral as a symbol of the soul’s journey is in all cultures of great importance. For many scholars, scientists, craftsmen as well as visual and performing artists, it was and is a constant source of inspiration. Numerous ornaments on buildings, medieval graves, panels, and also the traditional cultic dances testify to a veneration of the spiral. In nature, it is found in flora, fauna, and in microcosms. In natural science there are many laws with spiral character – our DNA, as a double helix, is also a spiral and without DNA there would be no life.

We are connected to the universe through our DNA. Even in our language, we find numerous words that are related to a band e.g. “bind”, “wind” or “wrap”. We are “connected” or we are “bound”, we are “wounded” and we are “wrapped”, “trapped” “entangled” and we “evolve”.The variety of multiple interpretations and possibilities of interpretation are almost limitless.

All of this is incorporated into the artworks of Gudrun Dorsch. She plays with the feelings of the viewer and his mental perception. Mysterious and ambiguous, her exhibits lead the viewer into their own mysteriousness. Therefore, the artist does not see her works as pure paintings or painted graphics, but rather as communicators of interpersonal relationships or transmitters for self-reflection.

“[…] A boundary is what man declares, consciously or unconsciously […]. Without boundaries nothing would be perceptible. They are the prerequisite for all human knowledge […]. Every human striving for freedom is only conceivable by overcoming existing boundaries […]. Borders can protect or challenge people, but they can also impede them. Borders in themselves are neither good nor evil. […]”

Professor Konrad Paul Liessmann, Institute for Philosophy at the University of Vienna