Press Releases

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8 September to 7 October 2006

London-based, German-born designer Gitta Gschwendtner is well-known for her witty and idiosyncratic approach. Her works are strikingly fresh and functional, though never passive. They evoke memories and associations and prompt imaginative speculation about everyday objects and our domestic surroundings.

In her exhibition at Barrett Marsden is a field of ‘Wallflower’ containers that cover the surfaces of the walls and invade the gallery furniture and floor. Individually these intriguing objects are aesthetically pleasing and clearly useful. En masse they display an animistic quality ­ but how can we tell if their intentions are friendly or threatening?

The ‘Furniture Life’ installation comprises an odd domestic set-up including a chair, chaise longue and wooden box. But again a narrative emerges, as each item of furniture exhibits a quietly perceptible, yet vaguely unsettling characteristic that seizes the imagination. This tableau is suggestive of some previous unwitnessed event. So what happened to provoke a box to ooze gunk? What caused another to break out in beads of sweat? And are those actually guts spilling out of the upholstery? Or would it be more reasonable just to revel in the rich sensuous qualities and gorgeous colours of the furniturešs ambiguous glass additions?

These new works by Gitta Gschwendtner occupy a conceptual space between art, craft and design and are only categorized by the context in which they are found.

Biographical notes

Born in Germany in 1972, Gitta Gschwendtner trained in furniture and product design at Kingston University (1993 - 96) and at the Royal College of Art, London (1996 - 98). Her design practice covers the fields of product, furniture, interior and exhibition design. She has developed products for numerous UK and German design companies including furniture for Habitat and lighting for Mathmos, CTO, Innermost and Artificial. Her work has been included in numerous major design exhibitions including ‘Touch Me’ (2005) and ‘Brilliant’ (2004) at the Victoria & Albert Museum, ‘Them Indoors’ (2004) at the Geffrye Museum and in the British Council international touring show ‘Import/Export’ (2004 ­ 05). Some of her recent exhibition design projects include ‘Global Local’ for the Victoria & Albert Museum (2005), ‘Making it Yours: Metal’ for the Crafts Council (2005), ‘Import/Export’ for the British Council (2004), ‘Treat Yourself’ and ‘Pain’ at the Science Museum (2003 & 2004).



For more information, transparencies, or to arrange an interview with the artist please contact

Juliana Barrett

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