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

1967Born in Rosenheim

Lives and works in Berlin

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2005

Galerie R'diger Sch?ttle

2004

Galerie Ben Kaufmann, M'nchen

S'dseehausen, 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, K'ln

Hands up, baby, hands up!, Oldenburger Kunstverien

Painting on the roof, Museum Abteiberg, M'nchengladbach

2002

TIERE, Elternhaus Thomas Palme, Immenstadt im Allg'u

FRIEDE, FREIHEIT, FREUDE, Maschenmode, Berlin

Gro'e Kunstausstellung Sommer 2002 im Pazifik, PAZIFIK, Berlin

Urwald, Privatwohnung Hajo von Gottberg, Berlin

Sch'ne Aussicht, Herr Schweins, Galerie Otto Schweins, K'ln

Druidin, Menschenraum, Berlin

2001

Viva November, St?dtische 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

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