HELMUT VAKILYTECKNINGAR MANUELLA MULTIPLER03-22.11.1972
Galerie S:t Petri S:t Petri Kyrkogata 5 Lund 046 / 14 78 00
Between November 3 and 22, Helmut Vakily from Munich is showing about thirty drawings and manual multiples at Galerie S:t Petri.
It is the first time this German-Persian artist is exhibiting in Sweden. Raised in Tehran during the first ten years of his childhood, he came to Germany in 1949 and has lived there ever since.
Since 1963, he has had several solo exhibitions in Germany and has also participated in group exhibitions both nationally and internationally.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Galerie S:t Petri S:t Petri Kyrkogata 5 Lund 046 / 14 78 00
HELMUT VAKILY 3 – 22 November 1972
Vakily’s “Beautiful New World” is a dream, a utopia. One could even call it “science fiction,” except that this world is also acceptable to today’s humanity, i.e. it is humanistic in a modern sense. It is a world for man as a natural being, in which reason is ordered but where emotion and instinct also have their place. Vakily includes in his world man as an individual. He seeks to create within it a space for each human’s unique qualities. That is why he is so deeply engaged with psychology. That is why he so often paints his works “for someone.” The primordial principle of image-making, which constantly opposes the ordered, geometric, abstract, inorganic to the organic, flowing, informal, concrete, chaotic, is applied anew here, just as technology is set against the natural. It is only that contrast which Vakily considers insufficient as merely a complement.
In Vakily’s work, time is an essential component. We experience a connection or confrontation between different realms: between the interior and outer space, between the world and eternity. The feeling of time can also be experienced in the small scenes that are depicted side by side or beneath one another, showing the movement of time within an age, shaped by Einstein, who understood time as a dimension of space. This seems natural to us. Our century’s art, which began with Cubism, has shown us that this dimension can be expressed through artistic means. For him, time is not a measurable or ordered element, but has a differentiating and rhythmizing function. On the contrary, for Vakily, time is a flowing element, which encompasses and unites everything: humanity with eternity, the microcosm with the macrocosm. It is not only man who enters the painting, but man who stands before the painting — the viewer.
Thus the question of art is not only an image of existing reality. Often that is certainly the case. But just as often man creates in art a world of his own dreams, a better world, which in reality does not exist and perhaps cannot be realized. In this way, the world of art can help man to meditate and reflect: upon the world and upon himself. But the world of art can also give man the courage to take a stand, towards a world transformed. In this sense, Vakily’s “Beautiful New World” becomes more than merely an illusion or dream — it can be a source of inspiration. Vakily’s approach is very personal, not especially tied to trends or fashion. This could even be seen as anachronistic. Yet I am convinced that in today’s multifaceted art, his is a voice that should not go unheard.
Peter Spielman
[JEANSELLEM VIEWER] — 03-22.11.1972 HELMUT VAKILY — Categories: press, letters, photo, catalog — Keywords: Galerie S:t Petri, Jean Sellem, archive — German–Persian exhibitorBetween 3–22 November, Helmut Vakily from Munich is presenting around thirty drawings and hand-made multiples at Galerie S:t Petri in Lund. This is the first time the German-Persian artist is exhibiting in Sweden. Since 1963, he has held several solo exhibitions in Germany. — — — Category: press — SDS – Sydsvenska Dagbladet, 3 November 1972 — German–Persian exhibitorFrom 3 to 22 November, Helmut Vakily from Munich is presenting about thirty drawings and hand-made multiples at Galerie S:t Petri in Lund. This is the first time this German-Persian artist is exhibiting in Sweden. Since 1963, he has held several solo exhibitions in Germany. — — — Image caption: Helmut Vakily sees the human being as an individual. That is why he often titles his works “for someone”. — Drawings at Galerie S:t PetriFrom 3 to 22 November, Helmut Vakily from Munich is showing around thirty drawings and manual multiples at Galerie S:t Petri. This is the first time this German–Persian artist is exhibiting in Sweden.Raised in Tehran until early childhood and since 1949 living in Germany, Vakily has had several solo exhibitions in Germany since 1963 and has also participated in group shows both nationally and internationally.Vakily sees his world as revolving around the human being and the individual. He wants to create a place for the individual human being. That is why he often titles his paintings "for someone".A central theme in his work is the principle that every image should contain the human being as an individual, and in this way take a stand against standardised, mechanical, artificial, or purely functional views of humans.His image-based principles encompass and connect various elements: the human being with the environment, microcosm with macrocosm. This is not only about the human figure in the painting, but also the viewer standing in front of the painting – they too are drawn into the image.Vakily's view is very personal and not particularly tied to current artistic movements. He believes his approach might even appear anachronistic. — — — Printed flyer. Helmut Vakily, Legend July (for Gertrud), 1972. — HELMUT VAKILYExhibition of paintings, drawings, and graphic printsIllustration No. 12: “Legend July” (for Gertrud), 1972Colored pencil drawing in 50 copiesmanual multiples) DM 50.–Image size: 25 × 26 cmSheet size: 45 × 35 cmNo. 12 — — — Category: letters — Typed letter + handwritten note by Helmut Vakily (29 August 1972) concerning his exhibition at Galerie S:t Petri — — — Category: letters — Typed letter + handwritten note by Helmut Vakily (29 August 1972) concerning his exhibition at Galerie S:t Petri — Typed letter (top):Munich, 29 August 1972Dear Mr. Beysigel,My next exhibition date is 3.11.–22.11.1972 in Lund, Sweden, at Galerie S:t Petri.Helmut Vakily: "Manual Multiples"A flyer will be issued for the exhibition. I would be grateful if you could announce it in Belser Kunstquartal.Kind regards,Helmut VakilyHandwritten note (bottom):Munich, 8.10.72Dear Jean,We received the invitation cards two days ago and find them very well done. The reproductions and typography go well together and the colour also appeals to me.I’ll forward the flyer to Lund, as Robert has retyped my Bauhaus script. The books from Lothar Fischer arrived, and I think they’re very good.I’ve also sent a copy to Belser Kunstquartal.I’m looking forward to 3 November in Lund!Warm regards — also from Ursula to you both,Helmut — — — Category: press — German text on Helmut Vakily by Peter Spielmann, Museum Bochum 1972, — Vakily’s Brave New World is a dream, a utopia. One could even call it “science fiction” – only with the difference that it is a world for humans and therefore, in today’s sense, is humanistic. It is a world for human beings as natural beings, in which orderly reason also leaves them their freedom, their place. Vakily envisions a world in which the individual is at the center. He is concerned with the particularities of each person, with the psychology of the individual. That is why he so often paints pictures “for someone” (see: “Lift” for Anne; “Red Interior – for Michael Schmidt”).The ancient pictorial principle of polarity – between order and chaos, geometric and abstract, organic and structured, surface and form – is here used in a new way. With Vakily, it is not just a contrast but also a complement, a reciprocal enrichment. Could this be due to an influence of Persian culture? I wouldn’t know, as I’m not sufficiently familiar with that culture.But this principle of polarity also exists in the European tradition: the alternation and interplay of such principles, which one could call Apollonian and Dionysian, determine the entire artistic and intellectual history of the European West. And if one sees Vakily’s paintings in their luminous illusionism, in their inner movement and also in their painterly and highly sensitive – perhaps slightly nervous – handwriting, one is involuntarily reminded of the European Baroque.It is the question of whether art is merely an image of existing reality. Sometimes it seems so, but often art creates a world of its own for humans, a world of dreams, a better world that does not exist in reality and perhaps could not even exist. The world of art can help people meditate, reflect, think about the world and themselves. It can also give courage to make decisions, to want to change the world. In this sense, Vakily’s “beautiful new world” is not just an illusion or a dream – it can be an inspiration.Vakily’s statements are very personal, not connected with “trends” or “fashion”. They might even seem somewhat anachronistic. I believe that in the polyphony of today’s art, it is a voice that should not be overlooked.Peter Spielmann, Museum Bochum, 1972BiographyHelmut Vakily, born April 2, 1938 in Konstanz, of German-Iranian parents.From 1939 to 1949, he grew up in Tehran, Iran.Attended a German primary school, then returned to Germany in 1949.1954: Began studies at Werkkunstschule Dortmund, then at the Stuttgart Art Academy.Studied under Gusgenberger, Deppe, König, Müller, Brudi, Hemmeler.1959: First study trip to the Pyrenees and Collioure (France) by bicycle.Since then: regular trips to Collioure and southern France.Living in Munich since 1961.Solo Exhibitions:1963 Munich, Galerie Leonhart1965 Collioure, Hostellerie des TempliersDortmund, Fritz-Henssler-Haus1966 Wuppertal, Galerie Poth1967 Stuttgart, Galerie Senatore / Iserlohn, kulturamt1968 Heidelberg, kabinett Dr. Grisebach / 1969 Wuppertal, Von der Heydt-Museum /1969/70 Cologne, Dom Galerie / 1972 Bochum, Museum Bochum / Lund, Sweden, Galerie S:t PetriGroup Exhibitions:1963, 66, 67 Munich, Große Kunstausstellung, Neue Gruppe, Haus der Kunst1963 and 66 Munich, Galerie Leonhart, Accroché1964 Cincinnati Ohio/USA, Shillitoe Co.1964, 65 Munich, Städt. Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Gesellschaft der Freunde junger Kunst /1965/66 Aachen, Jahresausst., Haus der Kunst /1966 Perpignan, France, Galerie de la Main de Fer1967 Munich, Kunst der Graphik in und um München, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung /1967 Perpignan, Galerie Poth1968 Cologne, Dom Galerie /1973 Lund, Sweden, Galerie S:t Petri1973 Gothenburg, Biennale Europearles für Malerei, Kultureel Centrum /1973 Heidelberg, kabinett Dr. Grisebach /1973 Berlin, Galerie LevyInternationale Zeichnungen /1973 Bochum, Museum Bochum, Forum junger Kunst “Kunst und ‘technik’” /1973 Berlin, Galerie Lietzow “Ausgewählte Künstler aus Rheinland und Westfalen”TV IVReviews:K. Hufenland in Katalog Gal. Leonhart, München 63 /Doris Schmidt in “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, 29.1.65 /Wolfgang Streithöfer in “Münchener Abendzeitung”, 5.4. /Wolfgang Hütt in “Münchener Merkur”, 11.8.65 /Hans Hierl in “Milde Gaben” /Michael Schmidt in “Die Zeit”“Rheinische Rundschau”, Wuppertal 1966: “18.9.69 /Willy Leygraph in “Südwestfunk”, Baden-Baden 28.6.67 /“Wuppertaler Zeitung” vom 4.1.67 /Patrizio di Bruno in “Tatabour” 1968 /Kunstkalender 67/68Kammer der Jungen Künstler im Rheinland“Tatabour” no. 14, 08.08. /Aachener Nachrichten /“Freie Welt”, 11.10.72 /Barbara Catoir in “Künstler Stadt” Galerie Köln, 12.6.69 /Nina Keller “Reportage – Junge Künstler in München”Seite 30 und 31“Kunstbericht”, 1973Museum Bochum, Peter Spielmann“Helmut Vakily” von Hanns Heinz Herbert, “Künstler”, München 72 /Günther Bergmann in “Der aktuelle Kunstbericht”, Mannheim“Kunst heute”, 4.2.72 /Sinnenaesthetik, Karl L. /Kuno Raeber, Peter Spielmann in texts for Museum Bochum, 1972“Das Kunstwerk”, Baden-Baden, Nr. 4/72, Seite 62 /Lew Nysen in “Tagebuch meiner Morgen”, 4.12.72 /Sinnlich und Intellektuell, Paris, November 1973 /Heinz Ohff in “Der Tagesspiegel” Berlin, 4.12.73 (Selection) — — — Category: letters — Document p.1/3 — Bernhard! Vakily’s beautiful new world is a dream, a utopia. One could even call it “science fiction,” with the difference that this world is also acceptable for today’s human being — that is, it is humanistic in the modern sense. It is a world for the human as a natural being, in which ordered reason has its place, but also emotion and instinct have their place. Vakily conceives his world with the human as an individual. He wants to create space within it for the individual human’s particularities. That is why he is so deeply involved in psychology. That is also why he so often paints his pictures “for someone.” The old pictorial principle of opposing contrasts — on one side the ordered, geometric, abstract, inorganic; on the other the organic, flowing, informal, concrete, chaotic — is here applied anew, just as the technical is contrasted with the natural. It is just that the contrasts in Vakily’s work are to be understood as much more than simply hard (or unambiguous); rather, they function as complements [note: in Vakily’s work, contrast (working with opposites) is, to a high degree, a complement]. In Vakily’s work, time is an essential element. We experience a connection or confrontation between different spaces — between the interior and open space, between the world and the self. The sense of time can be... — — — Category: press — Document p. 2/3 — This can also be perceived in the small scenes that are drawn next to or beneath one another, and that show a sequence of moments without end. In an age shaped by Einstein’s conception of the dimensions of time and space, this seems natural.Our century, which saw the rise of visual art beginning with Cubism, has shown us that this dimension can be expressed through image-creating means. Vakily introduces time in an illusionistic manner. With him, it is not a measurable or structuring element with a differentiating or rhythmizing function.On the contrary, for Vakily, time is a fluid element, which encompasses and connects everything: human beings with eternity, the microcosm with the macrocosm. This applies not only to the humans in the painting, but also to the human in front of the painting – the viewer. The viewer is drawn into the painting.It is the question of whether art is merely a representation of existing reality. Often, that is certainly the case. But very often, humans create through art a world of their own dreams, a better world that does not exist in reality and perhaps can never be realized.The world of art can in this way help humans to meditate and reflect – on the world and on themselves. But the world of art can also give humans the courage to take a stand, to seek to change the world. In this sense, Vakily’s brave new world can become more than just an illusion or a dream – it can become a source of inspiration. Vakily’s conception is very personal, — — — Category: letters — Document p. 3/3 — …not particularly tied to trends and fashions. It could even be perceived as anachronistic. I am convinced that in today’s multifaceted art, it is a voice that should not go unheard.Peter SpielmannTranslated by Ingemar Svenonius — — — — — — — Category: letters — Letter from Helmut Vakily to Jean Sellem, 14 November 1972 — Munich, 14 November 1972Dear Jean I was truly sorry that I couldn’t say goodbye to you before my departure. Robert and I looked for you on Sunday and Monday in the gallery, in a café, etc., but couldn’t find you.So this letter is my only way to thank you and Marie for making this exhibition possible, which is now coming to an end. The stay in Sweden was a bit short, but very impressive. I’d love to come back.From the sale, I’m keeping 60 SEK for the group exhibition in 1972.Warm greetings to you and Marie Helmut — — — Category: photo — Photography of a work by Helmut Vakily. Front — — — Category: catalog — Exhibition catalogue Helmut Vakily Schöne neue Welt (Brave New World) Images - Drawings - Manual multiples 16 April 1972 28 May Bochum Museum
