Sophie von Hellermann 
Letters to a young painter

1 MAY until 6 JUN 2026
Opening – 1 MAY 2026, 6-10 pm

Wentrup is pleased to present Sophie von Hellermann’s fourth solo exhibition at the gallery, Letters to a young painter, as part of Gallery Weekend Berlin 2026. Sophie von Hellermann’s works combine her interest in history, mythology, literature, and film with the theme of memory. The artist “weaves” these diverse narrative threads together, translating them into her spontaneous painting style without sketches or preliminary drawings. In doing so, she links contemporary events with classical antiquity, blending imagination and reality both stylistically and thematically.

She describes her works as “fleeting dream images.” Using pure pigments and broad brushstrokes on unprimed canvas, she creates a distinctive sense of lightness. Allegorical depictions, historical references, and artistic influences concretize her vision, making the past present. Von Hellermann employs the act of painting as a form of communication, comparable to writing or speaking, moving fluidly between the figurative on one hand and the ostensibly abstract on the other.

“I have always felt drawn to literature, and perhaps I would have become a writer. But I sit too much between two languages, so I began to paint. I create scenes and figures that act within them.” — Sophie von Hellermann

Marking the 100th anniversary of the death of the legendary poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who was born 151 years ago and remains one of the most influential poets of literary modernism, his work is once again brought into focus. “The Panther” is considered his most famous Dinggedicht (object poem), closely inspired by the works of sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Sophie von Hellermann’s painting engages with Rainer Maria Rilke’s poetry in an imaginary dialogue between image and language. While Rilke describes inner landscapes, transformation, and the fragility of human experience in his poems, von Hellermann unfolds an equally poetic visual world on canvas, featuring fluid figures and mythological allusions. In Rilke’s work, space indirectly describes a person’s feelings and thoughts; in von Hellermann’s, moods are reflected through colors and movements within the image.