MIX & MATCH
Insights into an Collection Cosmos

In the exhibition MIX & MATCH, Draiflessen’s archives and collection come together in four themed rooms spanning different eras and media, providing insight into our collection cosmos.

The joint exhibition in the Study Room and the DAS Forum invites visitors to discover our collections and to make new, sometimes completely unexpected connections between objects and eras. It presents our diverse holdings in an associative order. The four basic elements of Western culture—fire, water, earth, and air—serve as a narrative leitmotif: they structure the path through the show, sharpen the eye for materials and themes, and build bridges between exhibits that at first glance appear to be completely unrelated. The idea of explaining the world through these four basic elements dates back to ancient Greece and is still present today in science, art, and culture in a wide variety of ways. Highlights of printmaking and book art are displayed alongside photographs, films, and advertising material from the history of C&A and the Brenninkmeijer family of entrepreneurs. Iconic fashion pieces are joined by contemporary art and documents from the archive. This playfully triggers associations with elements that can reinvent not only museum viewing habits, but also everyday perception.

Objects related to the element earth are presented in the Study Room.