P·P·O·W to Represent Phoebe Helander
Courtesy of Phoebe Helander and P·P·O·W, New York© Phoebe Helander Photo
P·P·O·W is pleased to announce the representation of Phoebe Helander. In deftly made oil on wood paintings, Helander finds her subject within familiar elements of daily life. The painter uses subtle yet highly impactful technical strategies to convey moments of intense contemplation, completing works in single sessions lasting anywhere from four to ten hours. Often returning to the same object matter, Helander produces book-sized paintings that emerge from an expressive and durational form of perceptual painting.
Phoebe Helander Cold rose in a warm room, 2024 oil on wood12 1/8 x 15 x 1 3/4 ins.30.8 x 38.1 x 4.4 cm Courtesy of Phoebe Helander and P·P·O·W, New York© Phoebe Helander Photo: JSP Art Photography
Helander’s first solo exhibition with P·P·O·W, Paintings from the Orange Room , was on view October 31 – December 20, 2025. In his review of the exhibition for the Brooklyn Rail, Matt Moment writes that throughout her work, “Helander communicates the passage of time in much the same way as a long-exposure photograph would, with still points precisely described and movement rendered in degrees of painterly fluidity.” Helander’s sensitivity to form and light transforms even the most mundane objects into sites of renewed understanding, prompting viewers to reconsider their relationships to the world around them. The deliberately imperfect edges of these paintings harbor realities intimately tied to our own yet suspended in moments of metamorphoses. In an age characterized by rapid change, Helander challenges viewers to revel in the present moment.
Phoebe Helander Candle Burning XIV (for Aaron & Jacob), 2025oil on wood 13 1/2 x 11 1/4 x 1 ins.34.3 x 28.6 x 2.5 cm Courtesy of Phoebe Helander and P·P·O·W, New York © Phoebe Helander Photo: Ian Edquist
“Almost all of my work gets buried in the end. For example, in the middle of painting, I notice something and devote myself to describing it, and if I’m lucky this results in a passage or mark I feel connected with, something I don’t want to lose. Then the wax melts more, or the wick grows another knob, and the painting no longer reflects the candle in front of me . S o I end up continually painting over my work, re-making the same central area of the composition, for as long as the candle burns. Loss is a natural part of change, and that’s something I accept as a part of this work . My goal is to stay with the flame.
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The gallery will present new paintings by Helander at Post-Fair in Santa Monica, CA, February 26 – 28, 2026. Phoebe Helander (b. 1988) received her MFA from Yale University in 2019, and now lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at Karma, Thomaston, ME; Pamela Salisbury Gallery, Hudson, NY; Palo Gallery, New York, NY; and New Release, New York, NY; among others. In 2024, she presented her third solo exhibition with Pamela Salisbury Gallery, Hudson, NY, which was reviewed in Hyperallergic by art critic John Yau.
For more information about this news, other announcements, and exhibitions, please visit the P·P·O·W gallery’s website. Also, the gallery can be found on Instagram and Artsy.
