NYACK, NY.- Mercedes Helnwein is presenting oil pastels from her series Chaos Theory at the Edward Hopper House May 26 - August 6, 2017. Focusing on suburban American adolescence and family life, Helnwein sources her imagery from anonymous photographs or from characters posed in living room sets she creates in her studio. The original scenes are replicated in oil pastel (a medium the artist feels lends itself to “amplifying the disquiet of the seemingly innocuous moments”), laying bare the angst and tension with which family rituals and youthful endeavors are often fraught. From trick-or-treating and family gatherings to school dances and class pictures, she returns to subjects of quotidian adolescent and familial routines over and over to capture the accidental emotions and inherent dramas that she believes these isolated moments betray.

Helnwein’s early years were spent far removed from the typically American lifestyle portrayed in her work. Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1979, she is the daughter of the renowned artist Gottfried Helnwein. As a teen she moved with her family to Ireland and she now divides her time between the family’s castle in Ireland and her home in Los Angeles. “There has always been that umbilical cord in my work to the U.S. in a way that is probably only possible from a European viewpoint,” says Helnwein.
Also included in the exhibition are two films Helnwein made in 2014 entitled Cops and Nurses. The films - meant to be shown concurrently and with the same haunting, suspenseful soundtrack composed by her brother, Ali - present enigmatic, disquieting scenes of mundane workplace interactions, or lack thereof. Comprised of 20 nurses and 20 cops, respectively, the films challenge gender stereotypes and associated symbolisms and leave the viewer to decipher meaning.

Helnwein chose not to study art formally, preferring instead to find her own voice. As she says “I didn’t want any interference other than inspiration from other works of art that I admire.” One artist Helnwein gives a nod to - consciously or not - is Edward Hopper. The Hopperesque quality of her films and oil pastels, from the ambiguous relationship dynamics to the slice-of-life drama, recalls many of Hopper’s iconic masterworks. Her work embraces that influence while bringing a fresh new perspective and goes a step further by animating the scenes in film.

A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition.