Suse Kohler prefers to look her protagonists in the face. More precisely: into their eyes. For the artist, who is based at Lake Tegernsee, they are not only the mirror of the soul, but also the point of access – and thus the starting point for a dialogue to which she invites the viewer of her works.

With her great mentor Markus Lüpertz, who, as she says, still regularly looks over her shoulder during her creative process, she successfully fought out many discussions. Portrait painting was not held in particularly high esteem by Lüpertz. In her current exhibition, Suse Kohler shows strong women in all their facets. Strength, she says, also means being allowed to be vulnerable.

MOMENTE MAGAZINE:
Suse Kohler, your new exhibition “Strong Women” implies that role models are still needed. How did you approach the subject?

SUSE KOHLER:
When I prepare for an exhibition, it is first of all an incredibly intensive process, a struggle with myself – because I want to tell a story. Strong women have always been part of my portraits. There are infinitely many of them, and each stands on her own. With this series, I repeatedly immersed myself in countries marked by problems and asked myself: where are the minorities, what terrible things are happening? Naturally, one quickly arrives at Iran.

MOMENTE MAGAZINE:
You chose Gilda Sahebi, the German-Iranian writer, doctor and journalist, as a representative figure and part of this exhibition.

SUSE KOHLER:
With my selection, I did not want to become too political, but rather to show women who have courage and stand up for something. Women who are prepared to fight for fundamental rights such as equality, freedom and women’s lives. For me, Gilda Sahebi – whose portrait measures 200 cm by 155 cm – clearly belongs among them.

Since the death of Jina Mahsa Amini and the protest movements that followed, she has reported tirelessly on events in Iran. What can women in similar situations, whether due to the political situation or personal experiences, learn from her? To be strong as a woman means using the weaknesses that arise from one’s own experiences – she fled Iran with her mother at the age of three – and transforming them into strength. In this way, one becomes a positive role model for other women and gives expression to their voices.

MOMENTE MAGAZINE:
You portray Margot Friedländer, the German survivor of the Holocaust.

SUSE KOHLER:
We all know her life story. And why? Because what happened to her and her family during the Holocaust must not be forgotten. She is 102 years old and travels from school to school, from event to event, speaking as a contemporary witness about the cruelty of racism, of contempt for humanity, and how everything took its course.

In my painting, she sits as an 18-year-old girl – that was in 1939, at the outbreak of the war – on what is today the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.

I also dedicated a painting to the “sprayer granny” Irmela Mensah-Schramm, 77, from Berlin, recipient of the Federal Cross of Merit. This courageous pensioner has been active as a human rights activist for 40 years and has already removed 180,000 stickers and graffiti with Nazi slogans and symbols from bus stops, utility boxes and street signs using her ceramic hob scraper and nail polish remover. When the racist slogans are too large, she sprays even larger hearts over them. For the sprayer granny, there is no place for hatred – and so she has a place in my series.

MOMENTE MAGAZINE:
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was recently awarded the “Freedom Prize of the Media” together with her late husband. You also dedicated a large portrait to her.

SUSE KOHLER:
Her speech at the award ceremony – Suse Kohler designed the honorary award of the Ludwig Erhard Summit, editor’s note – deeply moved me. The fact that Yulia Navalnaya, despite her fate and her immense grief over the death of her husband, continues to stand up for democracy in Russia shows her strength. One could almost feel how pain and happiness lay side by side. That is exactly what I want to convey in my painting. After all, her husband lives on in her to a certain extent – and why should she not experience happiness through that, and also be allowed to smile, as captured in the painting?

MOMENTE MAGAZINE:
The spectrum of strong women is diverse. Taylor Swift is also among them. Why?

SUSE KOHLER:
Taylor Swift has an extraordinary gift for writing songs. Her lyrics are very empathetic, which is why she succeeds in touching people. She tells stories, creates characters. The artist stands up for equality and against racism, sexism and homophobia. After initially being politically reserved, Swift even used her voice to advocate for political change. She campaigned for Democrats, supported elections and encouraged her fans to participate politically.

MOMENTE MAGAZINE:
The eyes are always at the centre of your portraits. Why?

SUSE KOHLER:
Through the eyes, I try to capture the essence of the person portrayed. When I succeed in reflecting this in my paintings, and when I can establish a dialogue through the eyes between the portrayed person and the viewer, something new emerges – and I feel gratitude.

This was very clearly visible in my series “Machtköpfe”. Everyone had something to say about the chancellors shown – whether positive or negative. This gave rise to an incredible number of interesting conversations.

MOMENTE MAGAZINE:
At the end of your studies, you convinced Markus Lüpertz with the portrait of Christ. A powerful image that was different, monumental – just like the series of the same name, “2019 Years of Suffering Endured”.

SUSE KOHLER:
It was created after a trip to Israel that moved me deeply. As a native of Oberammergau, I grew up with the Passion Play, took part in it myself in 1980 and regularly attend the Passion Play. That does something to you.

And then you travel to this country and can imagine and feel it all more precisely. When I stood on the Mount of Olives and looked across to Jerusalem, I was overcome by the feeling that there can be no peace in this city, in this country. It was a very moving moment – and my Jesus, with his head inclined down towards the city, was the result, together with the other paintings in the series.

MOMENTE MAGAZINE:
Does Markus Lüpertz still sit on your shoulders while you paint, as you once said?

SUSE KOHLER:
laughs I believe he will always sit there. He is still often present during the painting process. I find that beautiful – he is a good spirit.

MOMENTE MAGAZINE:
You once said that you wanted to break open the concrete in your painting, although that is precisely diametrically opposed to your portraits. Where is the path leading?

SUSE KOHLER:
One thinks about that again and again. That is the process, the change – ultimately, it would feel to me as if I were injuring someone. That is not my right. In my work, a nose will definitely not move five centimetres to the left. But I have begun to become more figurative. It is an exciting path, one that naturally also allows for freedom.