Carin Rehbinder at the Kunstverein Essenheim It is not possible to grasp Carin Rehbinder's art in passing. The charismatic environments of her exhibition "California Dreams," currently on display at Essenheim's city hall, require concentration and sensitivity, and the desire to understand this artist's tightrope walk between vision and reality. Rehbinder's wall objects and paintings are subtle associative collages, yet at the same time, they demonstrate the remarkable strength of a powerful color palette. At first glance, elements of collage such as drawings or ethereal traces of writing on a scrap of paper pique the viewers' curiosity. Gradually, superimposed planes of acrylic and pastel colors come into view, giving the painting depth and complexity. Again and again objects washed in intoxicating red, blue, or yellow planes of color flow into each other, drowning the "concrete" reality of these collage elements. Rehbinder's ability to evoke emotions in the viewer is what truly makes her work stand out. Bright orange suggests warmth and passion, gaudy green evokes discomfort, and the fragile stalks of grain fixed onto the canvas and suffocated in lime-scaly morbid white, remind the viewer of the transient quality of existence. In short, the experience of this multifaceted artist, while challenging, is still entirely rewarding. - Mainzer AZ (Daily Newspaper of Mainz, Germany), March 18, 2000