À fleur de toi, je me noie

We are delighted to present "À fleur de toi, je me noie", the debut solo exhibition by Jerry Helle at Sakhile&Me, opening on 13 February 2025. After collaborative pop-up presentations of Jerry Helle's work in Cologne at DoxsDoks, an art and community space spearheaded by Godie Dokubu, and alongside Munich-based gallery nouveaux deuxdeux at the inaugural House of Galleries in Frankfurt, this will be the first time we have the pleasure to exhibit Jerry Helle's work in our gallery space.

Jerry Helle's paintings are characterized by abstract-informel expressions with the artist working from intuitive movement and composing emotive works that elicit a range of feelings and effects from calming to emotionally charged. This ambiguity is intentional and reflects Helle's interest in exploring the contrasting polarities of human bodily, mental, and emotional experience. He uses his art as a means of exploring while also challenging the stereotypes and misconceptions that are often associated with "good art" and through his paintings, Jerry Helle invites viewers to engage with ideas about self-hood, culture, and society. His work serves as a testament to the power of art to affect, challenge, and transform the world around us.

In "À fleur de toi, je me noie", three distinct approaches to his paintings appear as the artist moves from control to surrender with the medium, adding layers and peeling back. The first characteristic is explosive bold and thickly applied oil stick and acrylic paint, the second free-flowing drips of paint trailing the length of layered or raw canvas. Both come through in the works ‘Shadow and Stones’ or ‘Whisper In My Ear.’ As a third component, gestural line work with chalk or oil stick emerges in works like ‘Late Night Day Dreamer’ and ‘Swans in the Wild.’ Collectively, these techniques create a wide range of effects, from heavy intensity to light floating sensations.