train journey Print

Helmuth van Galen (1955) lives and works in Haarlem, the Netherlands. After his training as a teacher, Helmuth traveled through France on a bicycle for a year. He did a lot of work to survive. He made many studies after nature and sold his work at various exhibitions. After working for a short period as a teacher, he followed the training at the art academy Gerrit Rietveld in Amsterdam) 1979-1981) Then the art academy for Beeldende Vorming, also in Amsterdam (1981-1985) Helmuth works on a single theme for a long time. As a result, he explores the many possibilities of this theme. "There are so many unpainted paintings." From 1995 to 2000, Helmuth painted the series "Inside Space" Fantasy-styled architectural spaces. Like the interior pieces of the famous Dutch 17 e century Golden Age of Vermeer, Terborch, Metsu or de Hoogh. But then stripped of all the details. Horizontal and vertical rhythms play dominant role and thus give a depth effect. Large dark silhouette shapes form a big contrast with the colorful background. Some works can be found on the website of Helmuth van Galen. In 1998 Helmuth was nominated for the National Price of painting of Kampen and nominated for the “Internationaler Syrlin-Kunstpreis” in Stuttgart, Germany. In 1992 Helmuth participated on a large exhibition “Europ’Art Palexpo” in Geneva. On invitation to take part in an exhibition about landscape, the vertical paintings now became horizontal Outdoor Spaces. "Outdoor space" Although the works do refer to landscapes, I prefer the name Outdoor Space. The paintings are not painted according to examples or perception. All outdoor spaces are imaginary. All images that are now - and ever - observed in the outdoor space are stored in the head and partly forgotten. For me as a painter it is interesting how elusive images from the memory slowly get a solid form from many layers of paint. A renewed acquaintance with the Outdoor Space. With painting these outdoor spaces, Helmuth seeks an exciting balance between recognition of the landscape and a degree of abstraction. The visual memory of a moment is rarely sharp, clear or concrete. My memory image consists of countless transparent moments. Overlaid. From this tangle of images I distill a new outdoor space. To a greater or lesser extent to be named and recognizable. A new Outdoor Space? Or did it already exist. A possible (new) reality. Or is it now the world in my head.