Helena Stockar

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 are the subject of one of Helena’s most important large-canvas series. In the April/ May 2002 issue of Gallery & Studio Soho Magazine, the art critic Wilson Wong wrote:

 

“It seems only natural that contemporary artists will attempt to deal with the most traumatic event in recent American history. It is doubtful, however, that many will be as successful in capturing the spirit of heroism that 9/11 brought out in the best and bravest of our citizens as Helena M. Stockar.  Stockar is one of our most skillful proponents of what R.B. Kitaj calls “drawing-painting” in that much of her technique is linear. She draws with color in her oils on canvas, giving her work strong graphic thrust. In “Ground Zero”, the large canvas that was the centrepiece of her exhibition, flowing rhythmical strokes suggest smoke billowing over clustered groups of rescuers searching through the rubble of the fallen Twin Towers.  While “Ground Zero” is a major statement that sweeps the viewer up in its whirlwind composition, smaller canvases such as “Firefighters” have more intimate power akin to the American expressionism of Robert DeNiro senior. Stockar’s energetic brush work, however, imbues her canvases with an emotional power all their own.”