Hellen van Meene

Private Collection, Chicago

Hellen van Meene is recognized for her carefully staged portraits of adolescent girls, revealing the psychological tension and ambiguity of this transitional stage of life.

Though firmly rooted in reality, van Meene’s portraits often possess a distinctly detached and otherworldly quality; her subjects may appear immersed in their own thoughts, their gaze may be fixed upon something out of the frame, or their eyes may be closed. Her careful approach yields a timeless quality that extends into the photographs themselves, allowing the works to appear simultaneously contemporary and as if they have emerged from another era.

Recent solo exhibitions of van Meene’s work include those at James Freeman Gallery, London; Villa Mondrian in Winterswijk, The Netherlands; and Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York. Her work has been included in exhibitions at Magnum Photos, New York; Museum of Photography, Thessaloniki, Greece; and Istanbul Museum of Modern Art.

Please note that while this auction is hosted on Sothebys.com, it is being administered by the Art Institute of Chicago’s Society for Contemporary Art (the “SCA”), and all post-sale matters (inclusive of invoicing and property pickup/shipment) will be handled by the SCA. As such, Sotheby’s will share the contact details for the winning bidders with the SCA so that they may be in touch directly post-sale.