Robert Helm Artist

Another artist I've looked at repeatedly and has influenced my work is the late Robert Helm. I first became aware of his work in around 1988 or so. I took a trip back east to Washington DC and visited as many museums and galleries as I could in one day!

When I toured the Hirschhorn Museum I came across an exhibit titled, "Different Drummers". It was an exhibit of "out of the mainstream" artists. Richard Saul, Luis Jimenez and Alfred Jensen were a few of the other artists included.

I had never heard of Richard Helm or seen his work at that time. I was struck by the craftmanship and enigma of the subject matter. I was quite surprised that he was in my backyard living in Eastern Washington and taught Art at WSU in Pullman. Further investigation revealed that he appeared to be a close acquaintance of the Keinholtz's who lived in nearby Idaho.

Anyway, throughout the years I've kept my eyes open for exhibitions of his work and was rewarded when he had a show at the Tacoma Art Museum in 1995 and a few pieces have occasionally turned up in galleries in Seattle over the years.

Robert passed away in 2008. Here is a link to the Seattle Times Obituary: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/washington-artist-robert-helm-stood-out-for-his-enigmatic-meticulous-qualities/