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 color in a celebration of the erotic experience. She uses a vibrant palette and an ever-changing framework, from close-crops to wide shots, to create a landscape of intimacy. Her paintings are a textural fusion between form and color, utilizing 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, ‘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. In 2022, Helen was co-curator, with Maria Buszek and Alayo Akinkugbe, of ’Sensitive Content’ a group exhibition at Unit London that featured artists including Betty Tompkins, Penny Slinger, Renee Cox and Linder Sterling.
