His House
Visiting the Painter Ge GesslerBiographical information…As an introduction to the subsequent conversation, the artist guides me through his "picturesque" home - a true paradise for art lovers, travel enthusiasts and fans of old houses. By stepping through the front door you enter another world. There’s a crackling fire in the iron stove, a large tiled stove provides warmth, beams tinged black from smoke arch over low-ceilinged rooms, and the laundry dries silently. On the walls are witnesses of decades of artistic creation. Drafts of stage sets from his time at the Schauspielhaus in Zurich hang beside portraits in a distinct Gothic style; delicate, monochrome etchings contrast with large works in bright colors. |
Back in this world, another room serves as storage space for his countless large-scale works. But here too - between wooden frames and tenters - a touch of the exotic, a richly embroidered Berber costume. The printing press and its equipment for graphic sheets are located in a former farmhouse parlour. This is also where invitations for exhibitions are prepared and administrative work is done. Finally, right at the top, beneath the protruding ridge - open sesame – you will find the painter's studio. The gigantic easel – like an erratic block - immediately catches the eye. Beside it a kind of trolley, a mobile painter’s palette covered all over in paint, an artwork in itself.The walls again disappear behind countless glasses, bottles and vials, filled to the brim with colour powders, oils and essences. Brushes stick – like small bouquets- in cans and containers. Countless photos and art cards serve as reminders of study trips and artist acquaintances. In little pots, small pans and mortars, the colours are mixed and bound in the old way, these days, a job only a few painters still carry out themselves. One corner is used for storing metres of rolled-up, self-primed canvasses, also a time-consuming procedure.  The artist informed me that the music system does not serve as a provider of "mindless background music", rather, GeGe works with music. He needs it in order to get attuned to the topic which provides the foundation for a new painting.
U. Bonvin in: |
The "Türkenstübli», stuffed with souvenirs and matching literature, invites you to linger. Pictures in which the painter has artistically expressed his travel impressions tell of foreign cultures. Brass lamps with coloured glass panels filter the light, silk slippers from "The Thousand and One Nights" seemingly left behind at random – Scheherazade has just vanished.