Opening on August 8 at Corey Helford Gallery is the enigmatic new solo exhibition by French sculptor, Ornélie, which will pull you through the veil of polite smiles and composed faces to peek into a world far more raw and emotionally charged – but not without its beauty. Midnight Bloom is an exhibition of gothic wonder, centered around a series of psychological portraits that evoke resilience, adaptation and survival. It will be showing alongside Molly Delvin: The Hollow in Gallery 3, and Corey Helford Gallery’s 20th Anniversary exhibition in the Main Gallery.
A year in the making, Ornélie presents female figures where, beneath the surface, something adapts, reorganizes, and survives.
What emerges is not chosen, but necessary.
Beauty becomes a survival instinct.
Whilst viewers may come to their own interpretation as to what or whom Ornélie’s sculptures represent, the sculptor has been careful to keep the narrative open. “What interests me is the condition of women across time, regardless of their status or era.” explains Ornélie. “I’ve always been fascinated by princesses, fairy tales and romantic imagery. As a child, they represented wonder and possibility.
“As I grew older, reality inevitably entered that imaginary world. My sculptures live somewhere between those two worlds: beauty and violence, dreams and disillusionment. I hope each viewer can imagine their own fragment of story while standing in front of these women.”
16.2 x 9.8 in (41 x 25 cm) – Polymer clay, hand painted
Ornélie’s women inhabit a nocturnal world: “They don’t bloom in daylight or in ideal conditions. They bloom in the darkness.” she shares. For her, the flowers she hand sculpts are not symbols of fragility, but symbols of resilience. They become the “visible expression of an inner transformation, of a force that quietly emerges despite everything.” The show’s title, Midnight Bloom, transformed into the perfect image for that paradox: beauty appearing where it should perhaps never have been able to grow.
Not surprisingly, her own life experiences have imbued into this latest series. “Like anyone, life has gradually changed the way I look at the world. I’m still a dreamer and a hopeless romantic, but I also became increasingly aware of the complexity, violence and contradictions that surround us. Creating allows me to transform those emotions into something poetic. It’s almost a form of refuge. If I keep creating these worlds, it’s because imagination remains, for me, a way of making reality bearable.”
Each unique sculpture within Midnight Bloom has been entirely hand sculpted and painted by Ornélie, from the eyes, fabrics, lace embroidery, flowers, and insects; every sculpture is a unique, original piece. This solo exhibition is also the first chapter of a larger trilogy that Ornélie is currently developing; watch this space to learn more in the future…
Ornélie
Midnight Bloom
Plus: Corey Helford Gallery’s 20th Anniversary exhibition & Molly Delvin: The Hollow
Opening reception: August 8, 2026 7pm – 11pm.
Dates: August 8 – September 12, 2026
COREY HELFORD GALLERY
571 S. Anderson St. Los Angeles, CA 90033
Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
(310) 287-2340
For more information please email sherri@coreyhelfordgallery.com
8.2 x 7.5 in (21 x 19 cm) – Polymer clay, hand painted
10.2 x 7.5 in (26 x 19 cm) – Polymer clay, hand painted, gold leaf
Ornélie Midnight Bloom
From press release:
In Midnight Bloom, flowers do not symbolize life. They replace what has been taken, imposed, or silenced.
Midnight Bloom invites the viewer into a world where the feminine and the organic meet in a quiet tension, like a bloom held within the darkness. Organic forms, flowers and butterflies, emerge from faces and bodies, not as ornaments, but as the manifestation of an inner force asserting itself.
The female figures, both fragile and sovereign, do not transform: they adapt. Their bodies become the site of an unstable balance between what is endured and what persists. Beauty is no longer a given, but a response, a way of holding on.
Beauty becomes a survival instinct.
Influenced by classical painting, animation, and cinema, the artist develops a narrative language in which each sculpture becomes a passage into a dreamlike world. Postures, colors, and details act as keys, allowing the viewer to project their own interpretations and inhabit the story being told. Through this approach, the artist explores the complexity of the feminine, oscillating between idealization and disillusion, and gives her figures a strong, free, and defiant presence.
10.2 x 7.5 in (26 x 19 cm) – Polymer clay, hand painted
Artist bio //
Ornélie is a French artist born in 1983, whose work exists at the boundary between reality and imagination. She trained at Gobelins School in Paris and began her career in animation, working on several internationally acclaimed feature films. This experience, rooted in character construction and volume, naturally led her to sculpture.
Self-taught, she develops her work as narrative forms in which the female figure becomes a space for projection, tension, and adaptation. Her work has been recognized with several international awards, including the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and the Art Renewal Center Award, and has been widely featured in publications.
10.6 x 9.8 in (27 x 25 cm) – Polymer clay, hand painted, gold leaf
12.2 x 10 in (31 x 25.5 cm) – Polymer clay, hand painted
Corey Helford Gallery: 20th Anniversary Exhibition
To commemorate Corey Helford Gallery’s 20th anniversary milestone, the gallery proudly presents its 20th Anniversary Exhibition, a special two-part exhibition series bringing together an extraordinary roster of artists whose works have helped define the gallery’s legacy over the past two decades.
The 20th Anniversary Exhibition opens on August 8, 2026, followed by a second edition on September 19, 2026, creating one of the most ambitious and comprehensive series in the gallery’s history. Together, they will showcase newly created works by artists who have contributed to CHG’s evolution from a bold Los Angeles venture into one of the world’s leading destinations for fine art.
More than a group show, the anniversary serves as a tribute to the artists who transformed a gallery into a movement. Founded in 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and television producer and creator Bruce Helford, Corey Helford Gallery emerged during a pivotal moment in visual culture. At a time when many artists working outside traditional art world structures were seeking visibility, Corey Helford Gallery became a home for creators whose work blended technical mastery, storytelling, popular culture, fantasy, surrealism, and personal narrative.
The artist line-up for the 20th Anniversary Exhibition features:
Addeline Griswold (aka Burger Babie), aica, Alex Gross, Allison Reimold, Ana Bagayan, Andrea du Plessis,
Andrew Brandou, Andrew Hem, Andrew West, Anthony Ausgang, Anthony Sunter, Arturo García de las Heras,
Ben Frost, Bennett Slater, Bobby Leash, Brandi Milne, Bruno Pontiroli, Buff Monster, Caia Koopman, Calvin Ma,
Carlos Ramos, Caroline Gaudreault, Cey Adams, Chishi Morimura, Ciou, Clémentine Bal, Dan Litzinger &
Harmony Deimling, Dan Lydersen, Dave Cooper, Dena Seiferling, Diana Laufer, Eric Joyner, Ewa Prończuk-
Kuziak, Fabez, Faith XLVII, Fiona Hewitt, Fuco Ueda, Ginger Chen, Hallie Packard, Handiedan,
Hanna Jaeun, Helice Wen, Hikari Shimoda, HUSH, Ian Francis, Ito Chieko, Jackson Rabinoff, Jesús Aguado,
Jillian Evelyn, Jim McKenzie, Joe Ledbetter, Joey Remmers, Jonathan Viner, Kai & Sunny, Kari Tirrell, Kazuhiro
Hori, Kazuki Takamatsu, Kelsey Beckett, Kii Arens, Kiseok Kim, Korin Faught, Kseniia Boko, Kukula, Laurie
Lipton, Li Shanmei, Lo Chan-Peng, Lori Nelson, Lusesita, Marc Le Rest, María Cobas , Martin Hsu, Mayuka
Yamamoto, Mei Mei, Miho Hirano, Mike Stilkey, Naoto Hattori, Natalia Fabia, Nathan Ota, Nicole Evans,
Nonamey, Noritoshi Mitsuuchi, ONCH, Paul Saari, Peca, Phoenix Chan, pulpbrother, Ramiro Davaro-Comas,
Ray Caesar, Robert Palacios, Ryan Heshka, Ryoko Kaneta, RYOL, Sarah Folkman, Scott Hove, Seonna Hong,
Sergio Mora, Shantell Martin, Shepard Fairey, Sylvia Ji, Tarntara Sudaduang, Tiffany Liu, Tom Bagshaw,
Trashkitty, Troy Brooks, Xue Wang, Yoko d’Holbachie, Yumiko Kayukawa, and Zoé Byland.
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About Corey Helford Gallery
Established in 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, television producer/creator Bruce Helford (The Conners, Lopez vs. Lopez, Anger Management, The Drew Carey Show, and George Lopez), Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) has since evolved into one of the premier galleries of New Contemporary art. Its goal as an institution is to support the growth of artists, from the young and emerging to the well-known and internationally established. CHG represents a diverse collection of international artists, primarily influenced by today’s pop culture and collectively encompassing style genres such as New Figurative Art, Pop Surrealism, Neo Pop, Graffiti, and Street Art.
