Oppression and isolation are Doris Menzel’s central themes: her paintings allow us to gaze into the depths of human existence. Her overwhelming depictions of wounded souls challenge us to confront both individual and collective experiences of suffering.
The foundations for her artistic practice were laid at the University of the Arts, Berlin, at a course in design she herself played a key role in shaping: She was inspired by a Vivienne Westwood show in Paris so much, that she simply approached the fashion icon to entice her to the Berlin school. It worked.
"Vivienne, with her radicalism, her unique approach to design, and her political com-mitment, had a formative influence on me," Doris Menzel says today.
Menzel’s work in the fashion industry was another important influence. She made a name for herself as a denim expert, and became head designer at Walter van Bei-rendonck's W.&L.T.
However, she began to find it increasingly difficult to support the working and envi-ronmental conditions in production facilities around the world. So she founded her Berlin-based label, Your Local Dealer, combining a gallery, workshop, and retail space in one location, pairing her paintings with fairly, and environmentally friendly produced shirts and jeans.
After several years of success, however, she left the fashion medium completely be-hind. With this next step in her continuingly eventful artistic life, she transcends the human shell to tell of mankind’s depths.
Oppression and isolation are Doris Menzel’s central themes: her paintings allow us to gaze into the depths of human existence. Her overwhelming depictions of wounded souls challenge us to confront both individual and collective experiences of suffering.
The foundations for her artistic practice were laid at the University of the Arts, Berlin, at a course in design she herself played a key role in shaping: She was inspired by a Vivienne Westwood show in Paris so much, that she simply approached the fashion icon to entice her to the Berlin school. It worked.
"Vivienne, with her radicalism, her unique approach to design, and her political com-mitment, had a formative influence on me," Doris Menzel says today.
Menzel’s work in the fashion industry was another important influence. She made a name for herself as a denim expert, and became head designer at Walter van Bei-rendonck's W.&L.T.
However, she began to find it increasingly difficult to support the working and envi-ronmental conditions in production facilities around the world. So she founded her Berlin-based label, Your Local Dealer, combining a gallery, workshop, and retail space in one location, pairing her paintings with fairly, and environmentally friendly produced shirts and jeans.
After several years of success, however, she left the fashion medium completely be-hind. With this next step in her continuingly eventful artistic life, she transcends the human shell to tell of mankind’s depths.
