Work samples

  • untitled3.jpg
    untitled3.jpg
    Acrylic, colored pencil and collage on paper, 18 x 18" 2020
  • untitled1.jpg
    untitled1.jpg
    Acrylic, colored pencil and collage on paper, 11 x 9", 2021
  • detail.jpg
    detail.jpg
    detail of untitled
  • untitled2.jpg
    untitled2.jpg
    Acrylic, colored pencil and collage on paper, 17 x 14", 2021

About Sylvie

Sylvie van Helden  began her art career copying book covers in the basement of her parents home in Indiana at the age of 7.  Her mom thought her drawings were decent and enrolled her in some art classes through the community art association.  Fast forward to high school and college, where she buried her head in books and forgot art for many years.  After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Biology, she spent a year in a research lab and took night classes in art. … more

2020-2021

  • amplify.jpg
    amplify.jpg
    Acrylic and collage on paper, 6 x 9", 2021
  • littlemonolith.jpg
    littlemonolith.jpg
    Acrylic and collage on paper, 6 x 6", 2021
  • untitledstudy.jpg
    untitledstudy.jpg
    Acrylic and collage on paper, 6 x 6", 2021
  • untitledstudy4.jpg
    untitledstudy4.jpg
    Acrylic and collage on paper, 6 x 6", 2021
  • untitledstudy3.jpg
    untitledstudy3.jpg
    Acrylic and collage on paper, 6 x 6", 2021
  • sauvage2.jpg
    sauvage2.jpg
    Acrylic, correction tape and collage on paper, 11 x 11", 2021
  • gardenvarietyjpg.jpg
    gardenvarietyjpg.jpg
    Acrylic and collage on paper 6 x 6, 2021
  • shakeandstir.jpg
    shakeandstir.jpg
    Acrylic and collage on paper, 11x 11", 2021

Hashtag Mandalas

As a mixed-media artist with a background in science and an interest in spirituality, I explore ways with which we respond to and represent our environments and experiences.  The Hashtag Mandalas investigate how people define their experiences on the social media site Instagram.
 
My multilayered collaged paintings cull images sourced from hashtag searches on Instagram and combine them into the formal structure of a Mandala, a symbol representing the universe in Hinduism and Buddhism.  My hashtag searches yielded a plethora of responses, with some terms generating as many as 60,000+ images.  My normal mode of working spontaneously with washes of paint and collage was slowed by a need to consider image selection, placement, repetition and the overall design of the Mandalas.
 
Mandalas function not only as representations of the world at large, but as tools for spiritual guidance.  As meditation aids, they are points on which to focus attention.  My work aims to opens a window into the immediacy and pervasiveness of social media as a form of communication and documentation, whereby religious notions like devotion and purification have taken on new meanings.
  • #obsess2
    #obsess2
    Acrylic and Instagram images on panel 8 x 8", 2019
  • #obsess2detail
    #obsess2detail
    detail of #obsess2
  • #crave.jpg
    #crave.jpg
    Acrylic and Instagram Images on Panel, 24x 24", 2020
  • hashtagcravedet1.jpg
    hashtagcravedet1.jpg
    detail of #crave
  • #desire
    #desire
    Acrylic and Instagram Images on Panel 16 x 16", 2019
  • #desiredetail.jpg
    #desiredetail.jpg
    detail of #desire
  • #purify
    #purify
    Acrylic and Instagram Images on Panel, 16 x 16", 2019
  • #indulge.jpg
    #indulge.jpg
    Acrylic and Instagram Images on Panel, 8 x 8", 2020
  • #indulgedet2.jpg
    #indulgedet2.jpg
    detail of #indulge

Hashtag Mandalas Continued

  • #obsess
    #obsess
    Acrylic and Instagram Images on Panel 40 x 40, 2018
  • #obsessegalleryview
    #obsessegalleryview
    Exhibition image, School 33 Studio Resident Artist Biennial, Summer 2017
  • #cultivate
    #cultivate
    Acrylic and Instagram Images on Panel 40 x 40", 2018
  • #atone
    #atone
    Acrylic and Instagram Images on Panel 8 x 8", 2018
  • #atonedetail
    #atonedetail
    detail of #atone
  • exhibitionviewtemporal
    exhibitionviewtemporal
    Exhibition view of mandalas, Temporal Embodiments, Loyola University, March, 2019
  • temporal embodiments Exhibition
    temporal embodiments Exhibition
    exhibition view, Temporal Embodiments, Loyola University, March 2019

The Legend of the Koi

According to the tale, a school containing thousands of of golden koi swam up the Yellow River. The fish gained strength by swimming against the current. At one point, they reach a waterfall and the majority became discouraged. They turned back finding it much easier go with the flow of the river.  360 Koi refused to give up. Leaping from the depths of the river, they flung their bodies into the air repeatedly, only to fall back into the water. Their movements attracted the attention of malicious demons who laughed at their efforts and raised the height of the falls. The Koi were undeterred. For 100 years, they continued on. At last, one heroic Koi leaped and reached the top of the falls. For his persistence, the Gods transformed him into a dragon.

The falls have become known as the Dragon's Gate, and for their perseverance, Koi have become symbolic of overcoming adversity and fulfilling one's destiny.  I kept this story in the forefront of my mind as I worked on this series and came to terms with the loss of a family member.

  • Upstream
    Upstream
    Acrylic, Pen and Collage on Paper, 2106
  • Dragon's Boon.jpg
    Dragon's Boon.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink, Correction Tape and Collage on Paper, 24 x 48", 2016
  • dragoons boon detail 1.jpg
    dragoons boon detail 1.jpg
    detail, Dragon's Boon
  • pathtotransformation.jpg
    pathtotransformation.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink, Correction Tape and Collage on Paper, 20 x 10", 2016
  • KoiOrigamifinal.jpg
    KoiOrigamifinal.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink and Collage on Paper, 20 x 10", 2016
  • detailwinwave.jpg
    detailwinwave.jpg
    detail of Within the Wave
  • KoiOrigami2.jpg
    KoiOrigami2.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink, Correction Tape and Collage on Paper, 20 x 10", 2016
  •  Surmising the Falls.jpg
    Surmising the Falls.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink, Correction Tape and Collage on Paper, 14 x 14", 2015
  • Ripple Effect.jpg
    Ripple Effect.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink, Correction Tape and Collage on Paper, 8 x 8", 2015
  • Koi.jpg
    Koi.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink, Correction Tape and Collage on Paper, 8 x 8", 2016

Collages 2014-2017

Small collages done on paper.   Some were kept as is, and others were reworked digitally.
  • brushstroke.jpg
    brushstroke.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink, and Collage on Paper, 11 x 11", 2014
  • untitled 2014.jpg
    untitled 2014.jpg
    Acrylic, ink and collage on paper, 2014
  • Aqua kimono.jpg
    Aqua kimono.jpg
    Acrylic, Inke and Collage on Paper, 11 x 11", 2014
  • japonisme.jpg
    japonisme.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink, and Collage on Paper, 11 x 11", 2014
  • Warrior.jpg
    Warrior.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink, and Collage on paper, 12 x 12", 2015
  • digitalcollage.jpg
    digitalcollage.jpg
    digital collage, 2017
  • digitalcollage3.jpg
    digitalcollage3.jpg
    digital collage, 2017
  • Beginner'sorigami.jpg
    Beginner'sorigami.jpg

Rotation Series

Borrowing from the traditions of abstract painting and collage, this series examines the potentiality of a state of groundlessness. Shapes from scientific diagrams can be found intermixed with spontaneous splashes of paint and flourishes of Asian ornamentation forming a hybrid that references a balance between structure and chaos. The aesthetic of Japanese woodblock prints permeates the work; bright colors, textural nuances, and the juxtaposition of pattern next to pattern are used in compositions that invoke movements like spinning, falling and floating. Instead of being bound by an anchor point, these works suggest the freedom and possibility that can come from movement and seek to echo the cyclical nature of the world.

acrylic, ink and collage on paper
  • Rotation-Spinoff .jpg
    Rotation-Spinoff .jpg
    Acrylic, Ink and Collage on Panel, 11 x 11", 2014
  • Rotation-Fallout.jpg
    Rotation-Fallout.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink and Collage on Paper, 10 x 8", 2014
  • Rotation-Celestial suspension.jpg
    Rotation-Celestial suspension.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink, and Collage on Paper, 12 x 9", 2014
  • Rotation-Float.jpg
    Rotation-Float.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink and Collage on Panel, 8 x 10", 2014
  • Rotation- Suspension.jpg
    Rotation- Suspension.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink and Collage on Panel, 14 x 18", 2015
  • Rotation- Expansion.jpg
    Rotation- Expansion.jpg
    Acrylic, Ink and Collage on Panel, 18 x 24", 2015