Art on a Postcard for War Child UK

About 

Mercedes Helnwein was born in Vienna in 1979, daughter to Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein.  In her teens she moved with her family to Ireland and since 2000 has split her time between Tipperary and downtown Los Angeles.  She chose not to study art formally, preferring instead to develop a technical style uninfluenced by academic influences. 

Since childhood her work has focused primarily on the female protagonist.  And although her early years were spent far removed from the typically American lifestyle portrayed in her work it is this chosen homeland, the United States, that has supplied most of her inspiration -- with influences ranging from Southern Gothic traditions, to the cartoons of Robert Crumb and 1960s television footage, amongst others.  

In her recent work, Helnwein examines the suburban American adolescence and family life, sourcing her materials from anonymous photographs or from characters posed in living room sets she creates in her studio.  The scenes are executed primarily as large-scale oil pastels on paper, laying bare the angst and tension with which family rituals and youthful endeavors are often wrought.  In addition, she deals with photography, short films and literature, all of which she uses as reference material or as supplements in her exhibitions.   

Her work telegraphs profound meaning and pivotal narrative, but scrambles its signals at the last moment, ultimately keeping its secrets.   

Education 

Self-taught 

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