we are over the moon with the new paintings by charlotte artist sarah helser for her october solo exhibition. sarah’s work is multilayered and achieved through a complex process using a wide array of materials. her tools of the trade include gold leaf, copper, oil sticks, acrylic, graphite, fabric and resin to name a few. the underdrawings drawn out in pencil on the wood panel are intricate studies in themselves. next comes the acrylic under layers as a base before she moves on to more detailed mark making ending with a coat of resin. the technique creates a depth allowing the viewers to see the different coats over lapping one another. her paintings feel ethereal almost like she is capturing the light of the magic hour that only last a few minutes when everything seems alive and vibrant with the resin having a similar effect as a crystal ball. sarah’s world is filled with crystal chandeliers, white-faced ibis, cherry blossoms, peacocks, koi, peonies, and pink lilly pads. it is most definitely a place you want to linger for a while!
hidell brooks is by appointment only. please call or email the gallery to schedule an appointment.
sarah helser was born in high point, north carolina in 1980. she spent her formative years on a farm where she enjoyed the beauty and solitude of nature. her childhood and young adulthood has had a major influence on her creativity as an artist. sarah went on to study fine arts at the university of north carolina, greensboro, where she refined her interests by focusing on the figure and the use of alternative mediums.
sarah’s work is meant to express the beauty of the world around her, weaving together both realistic and abstract forms.
“i create each painting in the hope to reshape the familiar into the numinous and magical essence of what it carries. it is the brief glimmering speck of a dream, made permanently tangible before it is lost in the waking hours. joining the realistic with the imagined breathes harmony in the contrast and reshapes and impacts the way we see. in every piece there is a certain gravity combined with playfulness and whimsy, reflecting the seldom caught occasions of marvel in our ordinary lives. seized for a moment, the paradise of childlike imaginings are not lost but remembered, hoped for, realized and resurrected in the mind.
i paint as a way to make definite the combination of both experience and the deeply personal reflections of the imagination. i approach each painting with an openness, letting it become fully changed from any initial concept. completely understanding a narrative while i create is not important. instead i allow the imagery to lead me, a conversation that illuminates and pulls at the hidden longings and beauty of the heart. using layering and multiple mediums, each painting forms and reforms until it comes into its own organic completion. i myself am often surprised by its outcome.
i cannot capture all of the world around me, so for a brief moment i marvel in the mystery that it has captured me. they are meant to stand as physical reminders, a moment to reflect that beauty is not lost, that the dreamer and the child still exist within. they are the embodiment of these things, combined with the bittersweet gravity that years and life bring. the hope is that the pulse of these works would soften the weight, standing as a strip of gold hiding in the crease of a grey morning.”
sarah helser and her husband wes aka hidell brooks’ installation specialist
all available work by sarah helser can be viewed on our website under the artist page under her tab. click on the artist’s name to bring up all work with sizing and pricing. please call the gallery if you have any further questions.