Hey K. Loved his work! WOW.You are right, this is very modern. But did you notice he still produces easily accessible images? Things we all can understand. Classical work relies on representations from life. In that sense, this work has classical influence. No blobs of paint...actual objects we want to touch with our eyes.
Vince, his work is represenational, yes. But it is not realism, at least not realism in the sense I believe you use the word.(I could be wrong...)Much of Helnwein's work is based on photographs taken years ago--photographs that the artist did not take.The images are often chosen and/or arranged for their conceptual power.This is absolutely not technique for technique's sake. This is technique serving a specific vision.