HELMUT

HELMUT
(1945 | GERMANY)

Helmut Nimczewski was born in Heidelberg, Germany, and he was brought up by his mother because he never knew his father.
Retarded, probably as a result of brain damage caused by his epilepsy, he was put in several institutions and psychiatric hospital. Then he moved to a sheltered home in Hamburg where he likes going for walks with his camera.

Helmut loves order, uniformity and exactitude. He is fascinated by crowds and draws in great detail the spectators at a football match or swimming championship sitting in rows on the stands.
The drivers and the passengers of the vehicles he draws always seem to be travelling in perfect harmony along clearly marked roads, straight rails, or over smooth seas. Helmut works directly with coloured pencil and felt pens, using bright colours, and spends about eight weeks on each drawing.

HELMUT
(1945 | GERMANIA)

Helmut Nimczewski è nato ad Heidelberg nel 1945, in Germania, cresciuto solo dalla madre, non avendo conosciuto il padre. 
Ritardato, probabilmente a causa dei danni celebrati dalla sua epilessia, è stato inserito in diverse strutture e ospedali psichiatrici. Successivamente trova casa ad Amburgo, dove ama passeggiare con la sua macchina fotografica.
Helmut ama l’ordine e l’uniformità. Egli è affascinato dalla folla, ritrovabile nei suoi disegni dettagliati dove si possono osservare tutti gli spettatori di una partita di calcio o di nuoto, seduti in fila sugli spalti.
I conducenti e i passeggeri dei veicoli sembrano sempre essere in viaggio lungo le strade ben segnalate, sulle rotaie o in un mare calmo. Helmut usa matite colorate e pennarelli, spesso di colori brillanti, spendendo circa otto settimane per disegno.

Untitled, 1988, ballpoint pen, felter pen and coloured pencil on paper © Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne
Apolo, 1977, ballpoint pen, felter pen and coloured pencil on paper © Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne
Untitled, 1987, ballpoint pen, felter pen and coloured pencil on paper © Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne
Untitled, 1987, ballpoint pen, felter pen and coloured pencil on paper © Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne
Untitled, 1987, ballpoint pen, felter pen and coloured pencil on paper © Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne
Untitled, 1991, ballpoint pen, felter pen and coloured pencil on paper © Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne