First published: Summer 2025
Magic, the occult, sigils and signs – an entire cosmology – exist in the artwork that flows from Berliner Henrik Zoltan Dören via his guardian angel
In a small, ground-floor apartment in Berlin’s bustling
neighbourhood of Friedrichshain, Henrik Zoltan Dören
drops a weighty tome on to his kitchen table, with a
thud. Consisting of over 500 spiral-bound pages, it holds
the secrets of his work – a comprehensive cosmology
that is essential to the understanding of his paintings.
The main room of the apartment, which doubles as
Dören’s studio and living space, is home to hundreds of
paintings, neatly stacked against the wall like vinyl
in a record store. Of varying sizes, they are instantly
recognisable as work by Dören, with his distinctive style
incorporating text, figures, sigils and other motifs intrinsic
to his artistic vocabulary.
ShinAinMania, 2015, acrylic, crayon and ink on canvas, 23.5 x 16 in. / 60 x 40 cm
It was not always clear to Dören that he should be a
painter. Born in 1980, in Aachen, a spa city near Germany’s
western borders, he spent his formative years in the town of Herford, 150 miles or so to the east. From early
childhood – even as far back as kindergarten – he was
drawn to the occult. By the age of 13, he was fascinated
by the rock stars of the early sixties, the counter-culture
and the psychedelic movement, and soon discovered
punk and shamanism. By 15, he was reading texts by
renowned occult figures, such as Aleister Crowley and
Austin Osman Spare. His creative outlets were writing
poems and songs, playing guitar and drawing cartoons,
while listening to experimental bands such as Coil,
Current 93, and Psychic TV. It was during his teenage
years that Dören experienced his first psychosis, leading
to a diagnosis of schizophrenia, an illness with which he
has lived ever since.
Flame of Chaos, 2015, acrylic, crayon and ink on canvas, 27.5 x 39.5 in. / 70 x 100 cm
Dören’s interest in esoteric philosophies continued into adulthood. For many years, he was a member of Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), a secret society and hermetic magical order, and the chaos magic order Illuminates of Thanateros (IOT). In Berlin, he established his own collective, holding events that connected art with magic. His study of magic and the occult – in particular the work of Austin Osman Spare who developed his own magicoreligious philosophy, Zoa Kia Culture – inspired Dören to create his own cosmological system. The undertaking would not come to fruition until later but his basic ideas were sketched out as far back as 2002.
Protection Healing Love, 2024, acrylic and ink on canvas, above: 434 LIEBE, 2024, acrylic and ink on canvas, 16 x 23.5 in. / 40 x 60 cm 16 x 19.5 in. / 40 x 50 cm
By SHEENA MALONE
This is an article extract; read the full article in Raw Vision #123.
