Exhibited at Yavuz Gallery, Gillman Barracks 9 Lock Road, #02-23 Singapore 108937. year 2020
“One Thing After Another”
15 February – 22 March 2020
In her characteristic pictorial approach to exploring aspects of human behavior, tendencies, and social
relationships, Johanna Helmuth composes a new set of canvases partly as an introspection of personal
challenges she dealt with in the past year. She pictures herself as a central character in four tableaux
composed of mostly minimal assortment of objects in bare spaces—a curtain, easel, or couch enclosed by
walls or in the open—which highlights the interaction that unfolds between the human figures. In their larger-
than-life scale, each painting depicts contrasting moments of tension and unease, on one hand, and comfort
and calm, on the other. These moods blend and comingle within and among the works, further complicated
by elements that may suggest symbolic layers to the illustrated scenes’ theme. The dogs, for instance, that
reoccur brings to mind companionship and loyalty, while the ties are reminiscent of being bound and
restricted in movement. A bindle on a stick may in turn imply the individual baggage that we carry in life, and
an offering of flower recalls a gesture of initiating reconciliation.
Through the imagery emerging from the works, Helmuth suggests the cultivation of an inner strength that
enables one to clear and forge new paths; to stand up for one’s self and rise above the seemingly inevitable.
Though largely emphasizing self-empowerment, the scenes portrayed also recognize the value of social
support, of letting people in and allowing them to possibly offer a guiding light amid states of confusion.
Despite the tensed atmosphere evoked in each scene, a tone of positivity and encouragement nonetheless
resonates with the exhibition title One Thing After Another, a phrase which conjures a situation in which
things fall into their right places and at their right moments.
Curated by Ryan Francis Reyes
Johanna Helmuth 