BIO
Hélène Planquelle is a self-taught visual artist whose wide range of knowledge and interests takes root in her humanity studies. Passionate of classical literature and philosophy at first, she went on to get a Master's degree at the Institute of Intercultural Management and Communication, before delving into the art world by working at the Dalí Theatre and Museum, at the Salvador Dalí Museum and at the Louvre Museum. Putting high value in cross-disciplinarity, Hélène Planquelle has since then opened her mind to always more contemporary topics in the realms of social and natural sciences, and she thrives on feeding her mind novel material in order to reach a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of the world we live in. To her, determination is the key to knowledge and self-improvement; and it is that spirit that led her to develop her practice entirely as a self-taught artist. Constantly seeking to improve her technical skills, she believes technique is to art what vocabulary is to language: the more words you have, the more complex and precise your expression is.
In the same spirit, she looks up to other artists who, before her, were able to combine classical training and innovative ideas, from Salvador Dali - whom she admires for both his technical mastery and lavish imagination - to Jenny Saville - for her uncompromising look on the human body - and Ernest Pignon Ernest - who weds very contemporary topics and Caravaggio esthetic.
Fierce advocate of figuration, her work draws on man's ancestral need for storytelling. As art is not so much about finding answers than raising questions, Hélène Planquelle's work deliberately looks for ambiguity, uncertainty and multiple meaning. With truth and authenticity among her core values, Hélène Planquelle aims at nothing less than for her work to spark genuine emotions in her viewers, which are often the start of open-hearted conversations about existential issues.
CV
Solo shows
2021
Superfine Art Fair, The Reef (Los Angeles, USA), February
2019
Where is your brother, YIA (Young International Artist Fair), booth #5, October 31-November 3
Original Violence, We Art From Paris (Paris,FR), March-April
2018
Galerie Joan Font (Paris, FR), March
http://nomadgalerie.com/tag/galerie-joan-font/
2017
Zamaken Collective (Paris,FR), November
Place des Cordes (Paris,FR), November
Group shows
2020
Destructuralisme Figuratif, Parc Floral de Vincennes (Paris, FR), October
Paratissima Art Fair, Magazzini Romagnoli (Bologna, IT), January
2019
Grateful Park, Pilotenkueche International Art Program (Leipzig, DE), August
Hungry Dungeon Friends, Kunstkraftwerk (Leipzig, DE), July
Seattle Erotic Art Festival, Seattle Center Exhibition hall (Seattle, US), April
Féminin/Masculin, l'art se joue du genre, Lestudio Gallery (Paris, FR), March-April
La caresse et le meurtre hésitent dans leurs mains, La Condamine (Paris,FR), February, (as a curator and artist)
2018
Rapports, Les Rituelles (Paris,FR), June-September
1480km, Galerie La Lalande (Paris,FR), May
De l’ordre de l’intime, Galerie La Lalande (Paris,FR), March
2017
Ropes U, Eurydice Gallery (NY, US), August-September,
Residencies
NPE Art Residency, (Singapore), April-June 2021
Powerlong residency, (Hangzhou, China), 2021
59 Rivoli, (Paris, France), November 2019-February 2020
Pilotenkueche International Art Program, (Leipzig, Germany) July-September 2019