Thomas Helbig

Thomas Helbig was born in 1967 in Rosenheim, Germany. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich from 1989 to 1996 and at Goldsmiths College in London. Currently, the artist lives in Berlin. 

Thomas Helbig's Art Style

Thomas Helbig's practice spans painting, drawing, and sculpture, with each medium occupying its distinct realm. His paintings center on color, exploring its inherent qualities, materiality, and capacity to evoke spatial illusions through nuanced shades of light and dark. In contrast, his collage sculptures undergo a unique transformation of source materials, often incorporating discarded objects and kitschy plastic sculptures. Helbig blends and reconfigures these diverse elements into new forms, presenting them as coded messages from an enigmatic present.

The deconstructive process of weaving present realities into ancient myths becomes even more evident in Thomas Helbig's paintings. He frequently employs abstract geometric forms, yet instead of conveying rigidity, rationality, and a clear vision of the future as classical geometric abstraction did, Helbig's forms evoke vagueness, indecision, and mystery.

What sets his work apart is his tendency to venture into narrative territory, which was traditionally frowned upon in modern painting. Modernist forms were expected to maintain purity and resist any associative ties to themes. However, Helbig's paintings defy this convention. For instance, against a black backdrop, a white square appears with a corner seemingly torn away.

Exhibitions of Helbig's Works

Thomas Helbig has exhibited extensively. His solo exhibitions have been held at various galleries and museums worldwide, including Galerie Guido W. Baudach, Kunstverein Rosenheim, Tschechisches Zentrum Berlin, Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Galerie Diana Stigter, Kunstverein Heppenheim, Thomas Brambrilla Contemporary, Galerie Jiri Svestka, and many more.

Additionally, the artist has participated in group shows, including "Painting for Travellers" at Galerie Guido W. Baudach in Berlin (2022), "Portraits" at Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle in Munich (2021), "The Last Unicorn" at Museum im Prediger in Schwäbisch Gmünd (2020), "Faces and Names" at Galerie Guido W. Baudach in Berlin (2020), among others.