Image: Villa Zanders, Bergisch Gladbach
Kunstmuseum Villa Zanders in Bergisch Gladbach will open ‘Paper Minds. Konkrete Kunst aus Papier’ on September 17, 2026, presenting an exhibition devoted to the formal and material possibilities of concrete art in paper. The opening is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.; the museum lists the exhibition’s run as September 18, 2026, through April 4, 2027.
The exhibition examines a mode of abstraction that developed from the 1930s and deliberately moved away from the depiction of nature and subjective expression. Instead, line, plane, colour and rhythm operate as independent elements. Works in the presentation are described as drawing on mathematical principles, serial arrangements and clear systems to create precise, legible visual structures.
Paper is treated as more than a support for images. The artists fold, cut, layer, perforate, raster and otherwise manipulate the material, bringing its physical properties into the centre of the work. These procedures create a dialogue between surface and space, while allowing apparently simple sheets of paper to produce variations in texture, depth, rhythm and structure.
‘Paper Minds’ will bring together numerous works from the museum’s ‘Kunst aus Papier’ collection, supplemented by selected loans. The presentation ranges from rigorously systematic compositions to more understated variations generated through serial processes. Among the works shown or illustrated on the museum’s exhibition page are Friedrich Friedl’s five-part ‘Berührungen’ (1981), Fiene Scharp’s ‘untitled, FS-01-227_paper cut’ (2025), Werner Mally’s ‘Entfaltung (aus DIN A4)’ (1998) and Eberhard Fiebig’s ‘Ohne Titel’ (1978).
Other works identified by the museum include Frank Badur’s ‘Ohne Titel’ (1993), made from handmade paper and pigment; Mischa Kuball’s ‘Kartonschnitt XVIII’ (1983); and Erwin Heerich’s stamped cardboard work ‘Ohne Titel (braun)’ (1970). The exhibition’s emphasis is not on a single technique but on the interaction of material and formal logic, showing how folding, cutting, layering and perforation can generate autonomous image systems.
The exhibition is curated by Dr. Ina Dinter and Wibke Müller. Its programme includes curator-led tours with Müller on November 12, 2026, and March 4, 2027, as well as public tours on October 18, December 27, January 10, February 14 and March 28. The museum will also offer workshops and formats including ‘Kunst + Kölsch,’ ‘Ladies’ Night,’ ‘Sonntags-Atelier,’ ‘Yoga im Museum’ and ‘Kunstgenuss.’
Kunstmuseum Villa Zanders is located at Konrad-Adenauer-Platz 8 in Bergisch Gladbach. Its stated collection focus is ‘Kunst aus Papier,’ and the museum also operates an Artothek from which visitors can select from approximately 1,700 works on Thursdays between 4 and 7 p.m. ‘Paper Minds. Konkrete Kunst aus Papier’ remains on view through April 4, 2027.
