Mercedes Helnwein: CHAOS THEORY
May 26 – August 6, 2017
With her series of oil pastels entitled Chaos Theory, Mercedes Hellnwein (b. 1979) seeks to capture “the weight of quiet moments, and the triggers for chaos buried in them… the domestic cosmos and its fallout.” Born in Austria, Helnwein now divides her time between Ireland and Los Angeles. The “American way of life” – seen from a European perspective – plays a big part in her work. She focuses on suburban American adolescence: living rooms, Halloween, prom, family members, and television sets, looking at these scenes of daily life through a “claustrophobic” lens. The stories depicted take on an obsessive quality as she returns to the subjects over and over to capture the accidental emotions that these moments betray. Helnwein will also be showing two films, Cops, and Nurses, which present enigmatic and disquieting scenes of mundane workplace interactions. This exhibition is curated by Carole Perry. A fully illustrated catalogue is available. Click here for catalogue information. (Scroll down for installation photos)
With her series of oil pastels entitled Chaos Theory, Mercedes Hellnwein (b. 1979) seeks to capture “the weight of quiet moments, and the triggers for chaos buried in them… the domestic cosmos and its fallout.” Born in Austria, Helnwein now divides her time between Ireland and Los Angeles. The “American way of life” – seen from a European perspective – plays a big part in her work. She focuses on suburban American adolescence: living rooms, Halloween, prom, family members, and television sets, looking at these scenes of daily life through a “claustrophobic” lens. The stories depicted take on an obsessive quality as she returns to the subjects over and over to capture the accidental emotions that these moments betray. Helnwein will also be showing two films, Cops, and Nurses, which present enigmatic and disquieting scenes of mundane workplace interactions. This exhibition is curated by Carole Perry. A fully illustrated catalogue is available. Click here for catalogue information. (Scroll down for installation photos)
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Credit for all images: Courtesy of the Artist
Credit for all images: Courtesy of the Artist