She Curates x Art on a Postcard

About

Helen Downie is a London based critically acclaimed artist, best known for her idiosyncratic and expressive style of painting. Working under the moniker of Unskilled Worker, Downie’s distinctive style of painting is both intimate and evocative, mixing characters and nature with the ephemeral and fantastical. Her work has been described as ‘a melee of ethereality, innocence, inherent flow and instinct that all come together in a spectacular fashion.’ 

She takes artistic influence from Charles Burchfield and Joseph Stella and draws on a broad spectrum of influences, including Russian orthodox iconography and devotional art.  Her work, although at first appearing to be situated in a mythical fairy tale, utilises colour play to root the viewer in a place that is living and breathing and anchored in human emotion.  

In her recent body of paintings, Downie confronts the naked female form not as objects of desire that perpetuate a consumptive gaze; instead choosing to paint the female form that demands acceptance as it is - without room for spectacle. 

Downie’s work has attracted a large audience worldwide and has appeared in many international publications. Her paintings are collected nationally and internationally and have been exhibited at galleries across the world including London, Hong Kong, Seoul, Madrid, Tokyo and Shanghai.

Education

Self taught

Select Exhibitions/Awards

2021 | W1 Curates | London

2020 | Hauser & Wirth, London | exhibition & charity auction 

2019 | The Crossing, London, Los Angeles and Dallas | ‘ONE SMALL STEP’ 

2019 | D MUSEUM, Seoul | ‘I draw’ exhibition 

2018 | Aki Atelier Gallery | Seoul  

2017 | Mother, London| ‘The Great Women Artists’

2017 | The Qube at PMQ | Hong Kong 

2016 | Shape Arts Gallery, London | exhibition and charity auction

2015 | Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai | ‘No Longer/ Not Yet’ 

Gallery Representation

Self represented

Statement about AOAP submitted artwork

Two little pieces of something far bigger.