Anita Brendgens

In the context of the Aachen Art Route, the Couven Museum presents an exhibition of contemporary art which, rather than contrasting diametrically with middle class interior decor of the 18^th and 19^th centuries, actually fits harmoniously into the given ambience of the museum. Anita Brendgens forms objects of daily use from papier mâché and hangs them on thin threads so that they float freely in space. But the objects are never translated into the paper medium in their entirety; they always remain fragmented, emphasising in their non finito the fragility of the original objects. Fruit baskets, vegetable dishes, candlesticks, soup tureens and dishes, such themes of table culture define her work. Due to the whiteness of the paper, the weightless, floating three-dimensional elements gleam and transport the observer into a different, light-filled world more akin to a dream. The art of Anita Brendgens tells poetic stories of reminiscence and vulnerability, stories that find an appropriate setting in the Couven Museum.