ART/ painting
ZUZA
There are moments that shape a person throughout their life. At the age of nine, ZUZA, whose name is Zuzanna Irene, stood with her parents at the GDR and German border counter when leaving Poland. The little girl with the long blond hair didn't understand what the men in the uniforms wanted from her: “I had to hand over all my dolls. Even the teddy I got for my first birthday. They ripped out the arms and legs of all the dolls and teddies because they thought they had hidden something. I've never cried like that.” Back then, ZUZA developed her own personal way of processing emotions and letting them go freely. As soon as she arrived in her new home Germany , she began to draw and paint, so impressively that she received a gifted scholarship as a student. In addition to representational painting, Zuza was also very interested in the abstract, where strong emotions become even more intense and engage the viewer in a dialogue.
The source of all inspiration is the experience. That's why ZUZA didn't hesitate for a moment when she received the offer to work as a stewardess for a major airline. Not only did she get to know countless people on all five continents, she also took the opportunity to combine art and work. She has exhibited her paintings in numerous hotels around the world.
"Sometimes painting isn't enough for me, then I just have to scream"
In order to live out her emotions, ZUZA used music very early on. "Sometimes painting is not enough for me, then I just have to scream". What began with playing the piano continued with a successful musical career. ZUZA/ Eyreen Sue gave up flying to pursue art full time.
She founded her own band "The Strangers", with which she recorded seven records, one of them with her friend Doro Pesch, and then later founded the successful metal band High'N'Dry , with which she also recorded a CD.
benefit
She has been very involved in the charity sector for many years. As part of the Adopt-a-Minefield Gala in Düsseldorf, she and Sir Paul McCartney auctioned off a guitar that was not only made by him, but also by many other celebrities, including Yussuf Islam aka Cat Stevens, Robin Gibb, Katharina Witt , Boris Becker or the legendary Beatles producer George Martin. For the gala, she went on a week-long promotional tour across Germany with the instrument, in Berlin she was supported by Hans-Peter Wodarz (Pomp, Duck and Cicumstances).
After the tsunami catastrophe in Asia, ZUZA/Eyreen Sue organized a big charity open air event in Düsseldorf, in which her friend Doro and Peter Hein (Fehlfarben) took part. The artist also supports numerous other projects, especially in animal welfare.
“My pictures should get under your skin”
Parallel to this, ZUZA/Eyreen Sue continued to work on her new series of paintings in her studio. But the fear of a new military conflict in Europe also moved the artist: “I saw the pictures from back then in front of me, with Kohl and Gorbachev, the fall of the Wall. Everyone was convinced in their hearts that there would never be another war.” Under the impression of the pictures, ZUZA/Eyreen Sue has returned to representational painting. With their triptych, which artistically combines “25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall” and current events, ZUZA/Eyreen Sue want one thing above all: “To shake people up and show that it’s about people, about feelings, about fear and tears. I would like that a crying child never has to give up its toys at the border again.” She has also captured this moment, which is linked to deep symbolism for the artist, with a new image.
The exhibition in Berlin is intended to show the emotions of an artist who has stood between East and West all her life, who harbors all hopes of a peaceful future, and who sometimes has to scream - even in the paintings: “I want the pictures to get under the viewer's skin and stick with them. Like a tattoo.”
Triptychon Mauer 89/ 14 I - III
Oil/ pigment on canvas/ acrylic spatula technique
each of the three pictures WxH 100 cm X 200 cm = 300 cm x 100 cm