Keld Helmer-Petersen | 1940s
11 June to 25 July 2026 open each Saturday 2-6 + by appointment
Rocket presents an exhibition of rare vintage photographs by Keld Helmer-Petersen from the 1940s. Helmer-Petersen created these works when he was in his early twenties. At a time when photography was often seen as a descriptive medium, he viewed the camera as a tool for abstraction. Architectural fragments, industrial structures, shadows, and surfaces emerge as independent visual experiences.
"I don’t want my pictures to ‘look like something.’ They should just look like pictures."
— Keld Helmer-Petersen
Keld Helmer-Petersen (Danish, 1920–2013) gained international acclaim for his abstract photographs from the 1940s and 1950s. He was influenced by the Bauhaus and German Neue Sachlichkeit photography and developed a unique visual style based on abstraction, formal precision, and close observation.
After receiving a scholarship to study at the Institute of Design in Chicago in 1950–51, Helmer-Petersen broadened his work with experiments in both colour and graphic black-and-white photography. Over his career, which lasted more than six decades, he worked extensively as a photographer of architecture and design while also pursuing his own artistic goals. Starting in the 1960s, he taught at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, shaping many generations of photographers, architects, and designers.
Helmer-Petersen's photographs have been shown internationally and are part of major public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Recently, his work has received new scholarly and institutional interest, reinforcing his role as a key pioneer of Danish photography.
Rocket held Helmer-Petersen's first solo exhibition in London in 2005 and went on to present additional shows in 2008 and 2012. This exhibition features a selection of remarkable vintage prints from the artist's earliest and most innovative period, providing a rare chance to explore the beginnings of a photographic vision that still feels remarkably modern.
Preview on Thursday 11 June 2026 from 6-8 with drinks served
click to view the exhibited works
click to view artist profile on Artsy