Mercedes Helnwein Explained

Mercedes Helnwein (born November 12, 1979) is an artist, writer and filmmaker.[1] She was born in Vienna, Austria and primarily lives and works in Los Angeles.[2] [3]

Early life

Helnwein was born in Vienna, Austria. Her father is Austro-Irish artist Gottfried Helnwein.[4] [5] She and her brothers, Cyril, Ali, and Wolfgang Amadeus, often modeled for their father's work as children,[6] whose works often included nightmarish depictions of war and exploitation.[7] As children, Mercedes and her siblings were given the freedom to express themselves, and she developed a style distinctively hers.

Art

Helnwein has no formal art training,[8] but, growing up, she interacted with art figures such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring through her father's connections. She creates large-scale drawings, most of which are done with black pencil, colored pencils, or pastels. Helnwein's art debuted in 2000, with one of her first group exhibitions curated in Downtown Los Angeles by actor Jason Lee.[9] In 2007 Helnwein's New York solo exhibition debut, Untitled (Self-Portrait With Ribbon) at Bespoke Gallery.[10] Rachel Wolff, writing for Vulture, suggested Helnwein's "immaculately executed drawings play out like dramatically lit, attractively cast indie flicks."

Helnwein has exhibited over ten solo exhibits and over a dozen group exhibits. In 2005, Damien Hirst acquired Helnwein's collections "East of Eden," "Strange Days," and "Whistling Past the Graveyard" which were then presented at A Gallery in London.[11] The Molesworth Gallery hosted its first solo exhibit of Helnwein's work in 2007.[12] The Molesworth Gallery hosted its second solo exhibit of Helnwein's work in 2009, "Whistling past the graveyard."[13] Helnwein's "Temptation to be Good," a series of drawings in oil pastels, was exhibited at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery in 2010, and in 2012, Helnwein's work was again shown at Merry Karnowsky Gallery in her solo show, "Make It Dark." The Molesworth Gallery, in 2014, exhibited Helnwein's "No Way Home,"[14] [15] and it also made available her monograph of the same name.[16] In 2017, Edward Hopper House held a solo exhibit of Helnwein's oil pastel, "Chaos Theory."[17] [18] [19]

Helnwein also contributed art for stickers included in Beck's 2006 album, The Information.[20]

Writing

In 2004, Helnwein's travelogue, "Devil Got Religion," covered the 15-day road trip with Alex Prager and Beth Riesgraf for their "America Motel" installation.[4] In 2008 her debut novel, The Potential Hazards of Hester Day, was published by Simon & Schuster.[21] [22]

Discussing her 2021 novel, Slingshot, Helnwein says, "The secrets of suburbia, the surface fakeness, have always been interesting to me."[23]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors . . 2009 . . en . Mercedes Helnwein . Gale Literature Resource Center.
  2. Web site: Gelt . Jessica . October 16, 2011 . The Helnwein siblings' artful life in L.A. . subscription . live . https://archive.today/20240524-030433/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-oct-16-la-ca-helnweins-20111016-story.html . May 24, 2024 . May 23, 2024 . . en-US.
  3. News: December 30, 2013 . Mercedes Helnwein: Temptation to be Good . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150528014424/http://www.juxtapoz.com/illustration/mercedes-helnwein-temptation-to-be-good . May 28, 2015 . Juxtapoz.
  4. News: Gelt . Jessica . April 8, 2004 . Rooms with a view of America's heartland . live . https://archive.today/20130127-155623/http://articles.latimes.com/2004/apr/08/news/wk-ungallery8 . January 27, 2013 . June 5, 2013 . . E.16 . .
  5. News: Haramis . Nick . November 13, 2007 . The New Literary Enfant Terrible: Mercedes Helnwein . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110209224018/http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/the-new-literary-enfant-terrible/1546#When:17:01:00Z . February 9, 2011 . January 1, 2010 . BlackBook.
  6. News: Haramis . Nicholas . December 7, 2014 . The Helnweins Will See You Now . . 146,148,150 . 0028-7822 . .
  7. Web site: Lynch . Dónal . October 29, 2021 . Mercedes Helnwein: 'It almost feels like walking into a painting. It's mind-blowingly beautiful and it will always be home' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240524020120/https://www.independent.ie/life/mercedes-helnwein-it-almost-feels-like-walking-into-a-painting-its-mind-blowingly-beautiful-and-it-will-always-be-home/40989396.html . May 24, 2024 . May 23, 2024 . . en.
  8. Web site: Parentela . Claudio . June 15, 2007 . Interview with Mercedes Helnwein . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231219161959/http://theextrafinger.blogspot.com/2007/06/ . December 19, 2023 . May 25, 2024 . The Extra Finger.
  9. Web site: Dugas . Keith . November 20, 2012 . People Are Strange: Mercedes Helnwein's 'Make It Dark' at Merry Karnowsky Gallery . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201024602/http://www.cartwheelart.com/2012/11/20/people-are-strange-mercedes-helnweins-make-it-dark-at-merry-karnowsky-gallery/ . February 1, 2023 . May 23, 2024 . Cartwheel Art . en-US.
  10. Web site: Wolff . Rachel . July 3, 2007 . Making Cindy Sherman Proud . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140322073602/https://www.vulture.com/2007/07/making_cindy_sherman_proud.html . March 22, 2014 . 23 May 2024 . . en.
  11. Web site: Seidler . Heather . June 21, 2011 . Ladygunn Surprise Issue: Mercedes Helnwein . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20130525042038/http://ladygunn.com/art-3/ladygunn-surprise-issue-mercedes-helnwein . May 25, 2013 . May 23, 2024 . Ladygunn . en-US.
  12. Web site: 2007 . Exhibtions - New Works - Mercedes Helnwein . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240525220846/https://molesworthgallery.com/exhibitions/61-new-works-mercedes-helnwein/overview/ . May 25, 2024 . May 25, 2024 . . en.
  13. Web site: 2009 . Exhibitions - Whistling past the graveyard - Mercedes Helnwein . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221201175712/https://molesworthgallery.com/exhibitions/60-whistling-past-the-graveyard-mercedes-helnwein/overview/ . December 1, 2022 . May 25, 2024 . . en.
  14. Web site: March 27, 2014 . Helnwein. No way home . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240525213655/https://www.meer.com/en/8238-helnwein-no-way-home . May 25, 2024 . May 25, 2024 . Meer . en.
  15. Web site: 2014 . Exhibitions - No Way Home - Mercedes Helnwein . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230321043814/https://molesworthgallery.com/exhibitions/22-no-way-home-mercedes-helnwein/overview/ . March 21, 2023 . May 25, 2024 . . en.
  16. Book: Helnwein, Mercedes . Mercedes Helnwein: No Way Home . Gingko Press . Added commentary by Shana Nys Dambrot . 2014 . 9781937222277 . Corte Madera . en . 872733375.
  17. Web site: 2017 . Chaos Theory: Mercedes Helnwein . live . https://archive.today/20240525-222655/https://www.edwardhopperhouse.org/uploads/5/4/7/4/5474766/ehhpress_release_chaostheory_mercedeshelnwein_final.pdf . May 25, 2024 . May 25, 2024 . Edwards Hopper House.
  18. Web site: Perry . Carole . 2017 . Mercedes Helnwein: Chaos Theory . live . https://archive.today/20240525-222455/http://edwardhopperhouse.org/uploads/5/4/7/4/5474766/mercedeshelnwein_chaos-theory_edwardhopperhouse.pdf . May 25, 2024 . May 25, 2024 . Edward Hopper House.
  19. Book: Helnwein, Mercedes . Chaos Theory . Perry . Carole . ZERO+ Publishing . 2017 . 9781937222468 . Claremont, CA . en . 1004260014.
  20. Web site: Beck - The Information - Project Notes - Project Credits - Sticker Images . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090204184157/http://www.bigactive.com/art-direction-and-design/music/beck/the-information . February 4, 2009 . bigactive.com.
  21. Web site: The Potential Hazards of Hester Day by Mercedes Helnwein . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304140859/http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4165-7466-8 . March 4, 2016 . May 24, 2024 . Publishers Weekly.
  22. Book: Helnwein, Mercedes . The Potential Hazards of Hester Day . . 2008 . 9781416574668 . New York . en . 163603154.
  23. Book: Helnwein, Mercedes . Slingshot . . 2021 . 9781250253002 . New York . en . 1151090411.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mercedes Helnwein".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.