Adam helms hauntology grimm

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ADAM HELMS HAUNTOLOGY NOT REALLY NOW NOT ANY MORE GRIMM KEIZERSGRACHT 241 MAR 11 - APR 15

FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072 BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016 EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM W W W. GRIMMGALLERY.COM


ADAM HELMS

HAUNTOLOGY

NOT REALLY NOW NOT ANY MORE

Mar 11, 201 – Apr 15, 2017 GRIMM is pleased to present Hauntology (not really now not any more), Adam Helms’ second solo exhibition at the gallery, that will be on view at GRIMM Keizersgracht 241. Adam Helms (1974, Tucson) is primarily known for exploring the visual motifs underlying images of subcultures, symbols of violence and historical archetypes. Through the assembling, archiving and appropriating of mass-mediated and internet-sourced photographic material, Helms has investigated notions of the performed identities of opposition groups, notions of the heroic versus the anti-heroic and aspects of tropes surrounding masculine identity. Adam Helms lives and works in New York. Recent solo exhibitions include Uncanny Valley at Marianne Boesky, New York (2014), Weight of Culture at Artpace, San Antonio (2014) and Pathos Formula at Almine Rech, Brussels (2013). His work has been included in several group shows: November’s Bone at Halsey Mckay Gallery, East Hampton, NY (2016), It/Ego at Brennan & Griffin, New York (2016), Territorial Drift, curated by Yasmijn Jarram at Garage Rotterdam, Rotterdam (2016), Ghost Current at V1 Gallery, Copenhagen (2014) and Heel Gezellig, curated by Matthew Day Jackson at GRIMM, Amsterdam (2011). Institutional group shows include: Second Nature: Contemporary Landscapes from the MFAH Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, TX (2011), Haunted: Contemporary Photography/ Video/Performance at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York (2010) and Skin Fruit, The Dakis Joannou Collection, curated by Jeff Koons at the New Museum in New York (2010). Helms received the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2010. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Walker Art Center (MN), the Whitney Museum (NY), the Guggenheim Museum (NY), and The Yale Art Gallery (CT).


1974 Born, Tucson Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY EDUCATION 2004 MFA, Yale University, School of Art 1997 BFA, Rhode Island School of Design RESIDENCIES AND SCHOLARSHIPS 2014 San Antonio, TX, Artpace, International Artists in Residence 2003 Yale University, School of Art, Robert Schoelkopf Traveling Fellowship AWARDS 2010 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant 2007 Marfa, TX, The Chinati Foundation 2006 The Rema Hort Mann Foundation Visual Art Grant Award 2005 The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017 Hauntology (not really now not any more), GRIMM, Amsterdam 2014 Weight of Culture, Artplace, San Antonio Uncanny Valley, Marianne Boesky, New York 2013 Pathos Formula, Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels 2011 Blind lion, GRIMM, Amsterdam 2010 Without name, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York 2009 Under western eyes, Kathryn Brennan Gallery, Los Angeles 2008 Adam Helms, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver 2007 Adam Helms: Untitled portrait, World Class Boxing, Miami Hinterland, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York Adam Helms: Rising down, Sister, Los Angeles 2005 Brother’s Keeper, Sister, Los Angeles SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2016 November’s Bone, Halsey McKay Gallery, East Hampton, New York MTN, Black Ball Projects, Brooklyn, New York It/Ego, Brennan & Griffin, Brooklyn, New York Territorial Drift, Garage Rotterdam, Rotterdam. 2015 Animals in Art - collectie De Heus - Zomer, Museum Nairac, Barneveld When You Cut Into the Present the Future Leaks Out, No Longer Empty, New York The Triumph of Love: Beth Rudin DeWoody, Nortom Museum, Florida 2014 Ghost Current, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen Scripted Spaces, Martos Gallery, Los Angeles Huidige Zaken, GRIMM, Amsterdam Adam Helms & Karl Haendel, Halsey Mckay Gallery, New York Deceptor, Fifi Projects, Mexico City 2013 Highpoint editions: decade one, Sherman Gallery, Boston The system of objects, Deste Foundation, Athens Traces of life, Wentrup Gallery, Berlin FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 KEIZERSGRACHT 241 +31 (0) 20 675 24 65 INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM 2012 Animal spirits, Deste1072BR Foundation, AMSTERDAM Athens 1016EA AMSTERDAM THE NETHERLANDS WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM


Campaign, C24 Gallery, New York 2011 Heel gezellig, GRIMM, Amsterdam Second nature: contemporary landscapes from the MFAH Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Printer’s proof, Axelle | Bertrand Delacroix Gallery, New York Haunted: Contemporary photography/video/performance, The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao 2010 A.D.D. Attention deficit disorder, Center of contemporary art at Palazzo Lucarini Contemporary, Trevi Mystic visage, World Class Boxing space of the Debra and Dennis Scholl Collection, Miami, curated by Desiree Cronk Natural renditions, Marlborough Gallery, New York Skin fruit, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, The Dakis Joannou Collection, curated by Jeff Koons Made in Tucson/Born in Tucson/Live in Tucson, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson Haunted: Contemporary photography/video/performance, Solomon R.Guggenheim Museum, New York 2009 Evading customs, Brown Gallery, London 2008 Beyond a memorably fancy, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York Warlord, Smith-Stewart, New York Untraceable, Feldman Gallery, Portland 2007 Looking back: the white columns annual, White Columns, New York Every revolution is a roll of the dice, Ballroom Marfa, Marfa Welcome to my world, Alexandre Pollazzon Ltd, London Dream and trauma: works from the Dakis Joannou Collection, Kunsthalle and Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna Last attraction next edit, Max Wigram Gallery, London, curated by Neville Wakefield Phantasmania, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City Just kick it till breaks, The Kitchen, New York (The) Melvins @ (the) Mandrake, Mandrake, Los Angeles Omission, Perry Rubenstein Gallery, New York View (eleven): upstate, Mary Boone Gallery, New York Ordinary culture: Heikes/Helms/Mcmillian, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Collection 2005/06, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels Having new eyes, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen 2005 You are here, The Ballroom, Marfa Sticks and stones, Perry Rubenstein Gallery, New York Bridge freezes before road, Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York Delicate demons and heavenly delights, Oliver Kamm/5BE, New York Greater New York 2005, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Queens 2004 Cable twentieth anniversary show, Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, New York Some exhaust, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York Bungle in the jungle, Sister, Los Angeles Relentless proselytizersm, Feigen Contemporary, New York Grotto, Jessica Murray Projects, Brooklyn 2003 Crosstown traffic, John Slade Ely House, New Haven 2003 Wight Biennial, New Wight Gallery, Los Angeles Gilligan’s island, Ambrosino Gallery, Miami 2002 New homes for America ( Under construction), Weather Records, Brooklyn


2000 Flat file, Bellwether Gallery, Brooklyn 1999 First inaugural show, GV/AS, Brooklyn Postmasters, war: artists, Bulletin Board, New York

SELECTED COLLECTIONS • Guggenheim Museum New York US • Museum of Fine Arts Houston US • Walker Art Center Minneapolis US • Whitney Museum of American Art New York US • Yale University Art Gallery New Haven US • Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland US • Perez Art Museum Miami US • Santa Barbara Museum of Art Santa Barbara US • The Hort Collection New York US • Gemeentemuseum The Hague NL • Museum Voorlinden Wassenaar NL • De Heus-Zomer Collection Barneveld NL • Ekard Collection Wassenaar NL • Dakis Joannou Collection Athens GR

FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM



Hauntology: Silver Surfer (Dante and Beatrice) 2014 Aniline dye and laser etching on paper on panel 193 x 132.7 cm | 76 x 52 1/4 in

In Hauntology: Swamp Thing (Dante and Beatrice) (2014) and Hauntology: Silver Surfer (Dante and Beatrice) (2014), Helms has adopted a Pop Art vocabulary, examining an intimation of heroism as it relates to desire and the concept of the muse. Two lasercut panels feature comic covers from the the artist’s personal collection, showing two All American super-heroic archetypical figures carrying the vulnerable female muse out of harm’s way. From the titles, these two male protagonists are juxtaposed by two classical predecessors: Dante and Beatrice. Here the roles are reversed, for it is Beatrice –the lifelong but secret object of Dante’s love, appearing in the Devine Comedy as one of his guides— being the one saved and led from danger.

FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM



FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM



Repression (The Thing) #3 2016 Aniline dye and graphite on paper 199.4 x 199.4 cm | 78 1/2 x 78 1/2 in

FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM



FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM



FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM



FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

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Repression (The Thing) #1 2016 Aniline dye and graphite on paper 199.4 x 199.4 cm | 78 1/2 x 78 1/2 in

Three large-scale works on paper, Repression (The Thing) #1, #2 and #3 (2016), demonstrate the Helms’ extraordinary drawing skills. Helms has positioned the classical Vanitas symbol of the skull against a dark vacuum. In a Rothko-esque manner, Helms has repressed the colors by applying multiple layers of graphite, and through this process, tearing the paper surface, allowing the bright aniline to shine through. These drawings are metaphorical ‘landscape’ images as much as they are representations of the individual and the unknown.

FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM


The work Repression (2017) was executed in a similar manner to the larger Repression (The Thing) drawings, with the dye being applied in a triangular pattern, representing a notion of the infinite within the picture plane. The images at their centre feature The Chrysler Imperial emblem from the 1950’s, The Dodge Ram logo, the Nazi Totenkopf and finally the Death’s Head Moth, suggesting alliances between commerce, power and the occult and signaling fascist tendencies within the contemporary political landscape of the United States.


Repression 2017 Aniline dye and graphite on paper, four parts Each: 88.9 x 86.4 cm | 35 x 34 in

FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM



Hauntology: Swamp Thing (Dante and Beatrice) 2014 Aniline dye and laser etching on paper on panel 193 x 132.7 cm | 76 x 52 1/4 in

Both the impulses behind Helms’ artistic practice and the sensations his work evokes, can be related to the ‘Uncanny’ and the ‘Sublime’, two concepts linking psychology to art. The Freudian notion of the Uncanny describes the discomforting feeling when something is simultaneously familiar and foreign. The Sublime here points to the conflicting emotions of fascination and fear, feeling both attracted and appalled, while the viewer is at a safe distance from the depicted subject. The exhibition’s title: Hauntology (not really now not any more) –both a reference to a series of essays by Mark Fisher called, Ghosts Of My Life (2014) and to Alan Garner’s novel Red Shift (1973)– and points to the eerie quality of the works and above all to a nostalgia for the future, a future that feels unattainable and lost.

FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM



FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM



Repression (The Thing) #2 2016 Aniline dye and graphite on paper 199.4 x 199.4 cm | 78 1/2 x 78 1/2 in

FRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 1072BR AMSTERDAM

KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM

+31 (0) 20 675 24 65 THE NETHERLANDS

INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM WWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM


FRANSFRANS HALSSTRAAT 26 26 KEIZERSGRACHT 241 241 +31 (0) 24 65 HALSSTRAAT KEIZERSGRACHT +31 20 (0) 675 20 675 24 65INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM INFO@GRIMMGALLERY.COM 1072 BR1072BR AMSTERDAM W. GRIMMGALLERY.COM 1016 EA AMSTERDAM NETHERLANDS AMSTERDAM 1016EA AMSTERDAMTHETHE NETHERLANDSW WWWW.GRIMMGALLERY.COM


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