Helen Beard
Helen Beard (b. 1971, Birmingham, UK) studied at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design and went on to have a fifteen year career as an assistant art director in the film industry. During this time, Helen continued with her artistic practice, working in the diverse mediums of paint, collage and needlepoint. Her work vibrates with movement and colour in a celebration of the erotic experience. Using a vibrant palette and an ever changing framework: from close-crops to wide shots, to create a landscape of intimacy. She portrays sexuality in raw and bold canvases. All without fail filled with expression, colour, an acute sense of framing, and an unmistakable interplay between abstraction and realism. “I do love the abstraction I get from a very zoomed in point of view where the forms and the colours are indistinguishable and quite powerful.” Beard says. Her paintings are a textural fusion between form and colour, utilising sinuous brush strokes in a motion akin to stroking skin. She has exhibited in numerous group shows, including ‘True Colours’ (2018) at Newport Street Gallery. Solo shows include ‘It’s Her Factory’ (2019) at Unit London and ‘The Desire Path’ (2020) and ‘The Tulips are Too Excitable, It Is Winter Here’ (2023) at Reflex Amsterdam. Helen’s work has also been translated into a series of silkscreen prints, produced with UNIT Drops, Reflex Amsterdam and Paul Stolper Gallery.
DSC Gallery is thrilled to introduce yet another rising star of the British contemporary art scene - Helen Beard. This UK-based artist has already garnered acclaim for her colourfully raw portrayal of female sexuality, which is balanced delicately using colour, form and abstraction. Damien Hirst, Britain’s most famous living artist, believes she is one of the most underrated contemporary practitioners. The exhibition's title explains why: Beard's goal is nothing less than to map out and understand the ever enduring vital component of the human psyche - sexuality.