“People find comfort in consistency, but I have always been drawn to things that possess a tinge of hysteria.  A unique image can be quite a frightening thing.” -Helmut Hammen  

Helmut Hammen’s increasing range of work is a testament to the innate freedom of creative production.  Through technical rendering, surrealist narration, and deliberated conviction he confronts the history of painting, pushing foundational components of realism and abstraction to new and refreshing limits.

Hammen studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2010 to 2014 and shortly after began exhibiting his work nationally.  He came to co-found two artist run collectives under the guise of StretcherHaus in 2015 and Project C.H.U.M. in 2017, along with fellow artists Nick Zuwala, Benny Thompson and Austin Kinstler who sought to create work that defied the artistic status quo – exploiting various artistic techniques, methods and styles.  Straddling meaningful discussions surrounding the nature of image making and the corporate gallery system, Hammen’s work deconstructed his artistic vehicles to their foundational components – aesthetics, provocation, symbolism, color, gesture, and time – and has begun to progress out from the constraints of the idealized artistic process.  This act of exploration, Hammen continues to pursue resulting in jolting variations of work that combine figuration, realism, and abstraction. 

Hammen has recently begun to incorporate new methodologies and technology into his practice through three dimensional design software, digital painting, 3D printing – the limits that he has set for himself continue to shift resulting in new conversations and perceptions of art making. He is also fascinated by blockchain technology and non-fungible tokenized art. 

Helmut Hammen (b. 1992) received his BFA at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2014. He currently lives and works between Chicago and outside of Pittsburgh. His work was recently included in With a Capital P: Selections by Six Painters at the Elmhurst Art Museum in Illinois curated by Jose Lerma and in Art Link Phoenix inaugural exhibition at Park Central Phoenix Arizona.