I think I must have learned much truth when I lived with Casals at Prades in the Pyrenees. With that great man, everything seemed simple, the breaking of bread, the drinking of soup together, the few words expressing so much, as well as the silences. And the music…no places for pretensions. Like a child. Robert Helsmoortel

…”Robert Helsmoortel is an artist who starts with a fine delicate feeling for the organic and formal qualities of the human body, which he can draw in outline with such understanding of the volumes that no modelling is required to make the tree dimensions appear. This is real quality and gifted insight, and it’s the key of his sculptures and also the fact that he can maintain interest intact whether he is making a small bronze to put on a table, or a vast project for a public building. Resilience and toughness are a noble blend when made by an artist who understands the balance between natural and physical forms and the interior intellect concepts that the vision of these forms can conjure up.”…Alistar Gordon - “Art in the Modern Manner”- The Connoisseur –London England.

…”His work is’ realistic’, because it is based on the realities of space and time; ‘dynamic’, because by the flow of lines and shapes it includes kinetic rhythms; and ‘objective’, because it reflects the true nature of the universe. Robert Helsmoortels art is influenced by modern physics and geometry, but it is not a visualisation of science. He is a poet of space. His realisations of his perception of the world in the form of space and time is the only aim of his art.”…George S. Bolge-Director Museum of Art – Boca Rotan Palm Beach Florida USA.

I am happy to be able to transmit my high opinion of the artist, Robert Helsmoortel. I have long thought him to be among the fine European sculptors of his generation and probably the outstanding Belgian. He works both in biomorphic abstract form and in the purist tradition. His expressions in metal are original and effective, and the Art Institute of Chicago possesses a remarkable example, ELOQUENCE, in polished aluminium witch constitutes a significant addition to our contemporary European collection. You might be interested to know that among the many collections where Helsmoortel’s work can be seen is the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I do hope this conveys my respect and enthusiasm for this distinguished sculptor.

Most sincerely,

A.James Speyer – Curator, XXth Century Paintings and Sculptures – The Art Institute of Chicago.

… «De tous les artistes que j’ai rencontrés Robert Helsmoortel est un des plus simples, des plus francs , des plus naturels ; l’un des plus dénués de complexes et de fausse littérature. L’être humain ne cesse pas d’être son souci. Il prêche la cause du classicisme, tel que les plus grands l’ont compris (Bach, Tintoretto, Léonardo de Vinci, Rodin, etc.) C’est à dire l’emploi honnête des moyens contemporains, l’édification et la grandeur de l’homme, la pureté et la simplicité de l’œuvre, la recherche de l’équilibre et de la mesure. En l’écoutant parler, et en examinant ses travaux, je songeais malgré moi à Racine, à Valéry, à ces géants de l’esprit qui ne croyaient pas se diminuer en cherchant à plaire, ou en soignant leur métier»…. «Une extraordinaire unité, forte et définitive comme un coup de poing, caractérise toutes les œuvres de Helsmoortel. Cet homme se sert de moyens volontairement réduits à leur plus simple expression, pour faire vibrer, pour animer la toile. Il en tire des effets puissants, où la sensibilité et l’intelligence trouvent une précieuse pâture»… , … «L’apport, de ce descendant des Rubens et des Verhaeren qui comprend le Nouveau Monde mieux que nous ne le faisons nous mêmes, est inestimable car il nous apporte un son nouveau.»…Paul Gladu – journaliste Montréal Québec 1962.

…”In de zeventiende eeuw maakte Antoon Van Dyck fortuin in Engeland. In de twintigste eeuw vertrok de Antwerpenaar Robert Helsmoortel naar Amerika en liet er een monumentaal oeuvre achter.Helsmoortel is trouw gebleven aan het kunstcredo van zijn jeugd. Hij gaat in tegen de spraakmakende stroom van de museumkitch en de slechte smaak. Hij negeert het para-artistiek gedaas, het opgeblazen evenement en de ik-uitvergroting. Zijn ego-decentrisme laat ons, kijkers, ruimte voor innerlijke reizen en geestelijke vrijheid.”  Frans Boenders – Kunst & Cultuur – Antwerpen ’93 special.

…”Helsmoortel is the poet of the North Sea and some of his most typical paintings are those in which he depicts a wide expanse of water under a grey sky, with, afar off, a trawler making out to sea. A trail of smoke carried along with the clouds marks the immensity of the scene with the distant line of the horizon blending with the sky”…Barnett D. Conlan

De simpelheid van de essentiële vormen van Robert Helsmoortel zal ons tot troost en rust zijn in deze chaotische tijd.  Paul van Vliet – nov.2006

Hoe vaak gebeurt het dat je een niet-figuratief werk ziet en je bent niet alleen onmiddellijk geïnspireerd, maar ook sprakeloos. Het gebeurde mij bij de eerste kennismaking met de schilderijen van Robert Helsmoortel. Je kan je eigen fantasie trainen op zo’n intens geïnspireerd werk. Hij kent in zijn genre zijn gelijke niet.  Ivo Niehe – dec.2006