On the one hand, the common indoor plants can be found as tamed nature imported to the interior - cacti, palms, figs, rubber trees. They are complemented with portraits and still lifes, often with underlying situational comedy but also with horror. On the other hand, the impression soon emerges that these humans, too, are actually indoor plants - natural beings thrown into life, more or less well protected by thorns or thick skin. They can blossom, be well cared for or stand in a corner neglected and dried up. Behrend's compassion, which is linked to her astonishment about the strange lives we live, manifests itself in her unique perspective on everyday life. This special attitude enables Behrend to continually create new images and surprising combinations that unfold new perspectives on the world to the observer.
Barbara Engelbach
Ute Behrend's work always comes in pairs. That which one sees and that which it might actually mean: Behrend incorporates both in her pictures rather than disassembling them carefully. Through her precise choices of combinations, Ute Behrend becomes a trail-setter whose narrative turns into a key for the observer's imagination. On entering the pictorial space, the motifs of objects, places and people blend into carefully coded stories - the game of associations begins.
Christoph Ribbath
www.utebehrend.de
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