Sophie von Hellermann: Letters to a young painter

Wentrup presents Sophie von Hellermann’s fourth solo exhibition at the gallery, Letters to a young painter. Sophie von Hellermann’s works combine her interest in history, mythology, literature, and film with the theme of memory. The artist 'weaves' these diverse narrative threads together, translating them into her spontaneous painting style without sketches or preliminary drawings. In doing so, she links contemporary events with classical antiquity, literature with painting, blending imagination and reality both stylistically and thematically. 

Sophie von Hellermann´s new paintings were inspired by an ongoing engagement with the life and work of Rainer Maria Rilke, whose 150th birthday and 100th anniversary of his death will coincide in 2026. Rainer Maria Rilke continues to fascinate to this day because his texts look deep into the human soul and express existential feelings such as loneliness, love, and the search for self. Sophie von Hellermann’s painting and Rainer Maria Rilke’s literature are united by their openness and ambiguity: both work with suggestion rather than clear statements. Instead of telling concrete stories, they primarily create moods and inner spaces of experience.

Both von Hellermann’s fleeting figures and Rilke’s searching self portray human beings as something unfinished, in a state of flux. Thus, in both works, a poetic, dreamlike effect emerges that straddles reality and imagination.