Selected Works by Thomas Helbig

Furthering the ideas of systematic reordering present in his sculptures, Thomas Helbig’s paintings are often derived from images and methodologies gleaned from instructional art books. Half-completing the lessons, Helbig omits the final stages: his canvases, suggestive of landscapes or portraits, become longing abstractions based equally in aesthetic impression and subversive formulation. Braun Welle depicts a virgin land evoking the sublime engagement with nature found in The Hudson School’s new world paintings. Devoid of picturesque detail, Helbig envisions a barren terrain, offering dystopian promise.

Thomas Helbig’s paintings approach abstraction with a quirky intimacy. Set in wonky hand-made frames, his canvases exude a contemplative authority, broaching high culture with folk craft. Reminiscent of the black forms of Robert Motherwell or Franz Kline, Maschine resurrects modernist principles of artistic autonomy, creating a unique platform in which Helbig engages with art and history in a personal way. Expressionistically rendered in chalky tones, Maschine manifests a corrupted aesthetic; his clunky form enshrined in a muddy painterly field alludes to a defunct beauty, its unresolved composition encapsulating the poetic failure of ideas.

BIOGRAPHY

1967   Born in Rosenheim
   Lives and works in Berlin

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2005
Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle

2004
Galerie Ben Kaufmann, München
Südseehausen, Maschenmode, Galerie Guido W. Baudach, Berlin

2002
Dridin, Menschenraum, Berlin

2001
Maschenmode, Galerie Guido W. Baudach, Berlin
Danke, Erwin, Galerie Nomadenoase (Golden Pudel Club), Hamburg
Die Malerei der Heiden, Montparnasse, Berlin

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2004
Guido W. Baudach, Galerie Guido W. Baudach, Berlin
Kommando Pfannenkuchen, Daniel Hug Gallery, Los Angeles
Maschenmode, Galerie Karl-Heinz Meyer, Karlsruhe

2003
Im Helbo, Brotherslasher, Köln
Hands up, baby, hands up!, Oldenburger Kunstverien
Painting on the roof, Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach

2002
TIERE, Elternhaus Thomas Palme, Immenstadt im Allgäu
FRIEDE, FREIHEIT, FREUDE, Maschenmode, Berlin
Große Kunstausstellung Sommer 2002 im Pazifik, PAZIFIK, Berlin
Urwald, Privatwohnung Hajo von Gottberg, Berlin
Schöne Aussicht, Herr Schweins, Galerie Otto Schweins, Köln
Druidin, Menschenraum, Berlin

2001
Viva November, Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg
Brown, The Approach, London
Montana Sacra (Circles 5), ZKM, Karlsruhe
Im Wandel der Liebe zu uns selbst und des Gesichtssinns im, Maschenmode, Berlin
Conversations, The Trade Apartment, London

what to Do Next...

Read more information about Thomas Helbig paintaings and ehibitions at
<a href='http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/thomas_helbig.htm'> http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/thomas_helbig.htm</a>