Born in Belarus, Helen completed a Fine Art and Drawing Degree at the Belarusian State University in Minsk under Professor Shikulov in 2001. Since 2020, Helen has been living and working in Hamburg.

STATEMENT

In the interstitial space where human anatomy converges with architectural form, Shulkin’s work uncovers a shared essence. Each piece reveals the visceral parallels between the human body and the built environment, capturing their intertwined vulnerabilities and resilience. Her canvases are not representations of physical spaces but dissections of their underlying anatomy, exposing the sinews, vessels and tissues.

This exploration is not an exercise in metaphor but a direct engagement with the unity of structure and being. By employing oil and canvas as scalpel and sutures, Shulkin peels back the layers of architectural exteriors to expose their raw connection to the human form. The stark rigidity of concrete finds intimacy in the softness of flesh; the cold strength of steel resonates with the warmth of blood. Her work transforms the built environment into a living entity, challenging conventional perceptions of space as static and inert.

Rejecting the boundaries between body and architecture, Shulkin’s art posits a bold synthesis. It is a conceptual and visual alchemy that transforms the way we perceive man-made landscapes—not as mere habitats, but as extensions of our very existence. The resulting pieces are as much a map of the human condition as they are manifestos of humanity’s need to inscribe meaning onto the lifeless fabric of our constructed world.

For a deeper insight, please read her manifesto.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2018, Solo exhibition of awarded artists, OSTEN BIENNIAL of DRAWING, Gallery OSTEN, Skopje, Macedonia

Two Person exhibition

2022, Moving Cities: a changing metropolis, Anise Gallery, London, UK (press release)

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024, Future Perfect, Durden and Ray Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (press release)
2023, FORWARD, Von Fraunberg Art Gallery & Taylor Wessing, Düsseldorf, Germany
2023, Gretchenfrage 2.0, SAP SE Internationales Schulungszentrum, Walldorf, Germany
2023, Unheimlich.Grossartig, Atelierhaus Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany (press release)
2022, ARTmaniac, Nachtbrötchen, Düsseldorf, Germany (press release)
2022, Framing our future, ArtCan Virtual Gallery, London, UK
2021, Inspire, D-Contemporary, London, UK
2020, Cultivate presents, Cultivate Gallery, London, UK
2020, Elevate 02, Duff & Phelps, London, UK
2020, OSTEN BIENNIAL of DRAWING, National Gallery of Macedonia, Skopje, Macedonia
2019, FT² Clerkenwell Design Week, CHROM-ART, London, UK
2019, Spring Show, The Artistry House, Preston, UK
2018, OSTEN BIENNIAL of DRAWING, National Gallery of Macedonia, Skopje, Macedonia
2018, Rolfe Judd 5XIO, 5-person show, individual works commissioned by the Rolfe Judd, The Bridge Theatre, London, UK
2018, From ArtCan with Love, The Fritzovia Gallery, London, UK
2017, Great Escapes, Nude Tin Can Gallery, St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK
2017, Strom, exhibition of nominated Artists, QQArt Gallery, Hilden, Germany, (Catalogue)
2016, OSTEN BIENNIAL of DRAWING, National Gallery of Macedonia, Skopje, Macedonia
2016, ART Award of Town Weilburg an der Lahn, Municipal Museum, Germany
2016, Artig Art-Award, Gallery Kunstreich, Kempten, Germany
2016, ART Award of Town of Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Town Hall, Germany
2016, item Art Award, item Indrustrietechnik GmbH, Ulm, Germany

ART FAIRS & others

2024, Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, represented by Anise Gallery, London, UK
2021, Charity Auction in cooperation with Sotheby's, Rotary Clubs Vienna-West, Vienna-International, Munich-Hofgarten and Cologne-Ville, Federation of Austrian Industry, and Challery Vienna, Austria
2018-2019, Exhibition of works on Holland America Line's cruise ships, represented by the Artlink Gallery, London, UK (press release)

NOMINATIONS & AWARDS

2018, OSTEN AWARD of the OSTEN BIENNIAL of DRAWING Skopje, Gallery OSTEN, Macedonia
2016, Nomination for the Art Award of the Town of Weilburg an der Lahn, Germany
2016, Nomination for the Art Award of the Town of Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
2017, Nomination for the QQArt Award , Germany
2016, Nomination for the OSTEN BIENNIAL of DRAWING Skopje, Gallery OSTEN, Macedonia
2016, Nomination for the item Art Award, Germany
2016, Nomination for the Artig Art-Award, Germany

PUBLICATIONS

2023, I will survive, Body & Soul - Nr. 28, Corvinus Presse, Berlin, Germany
2020, Neue Kunst aus Belarus in der Marienkirche, Lübecker Nachrichten, 20 Nov 2020, Germany
2020, People have the Power, Body & Soul - Nr. 33, Corvinus Presse, Berlin, Germany
2018, Cover image, Office et Culture, Issue 48, Paris, France
2018, Posturbanity, ARTICULATE, Issue 15, April, Denmark
2018, The best abstract artist of the month, The Guide Artists Magazine, Issue 14, April, Spain
2017, You’ll never walk alone, Body & Soul - Nr. 28, Corvinus Presse, Berlin, Germany
2016, Early one Morning, Body & Soul – Nr. 26, Corvinus Presse, Berlin, Germany

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

2024, From Minsk to Hamburg: The Artistic Evolution of Helen Shulkin, Aatenau, Japan
2024, Manifesto: Architecture as a human body, September, Denmark
2023, Ritmo, color y composición, The Core, Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
2021, Hamburg Elbbrücken, ARTICULATE, November, Denmark
2016, Paintings of Industrial and Urban Places, fubiz, May, Paris, France
2016, iGNANT, March, Berlin, Germany

COLLECTIONS

German Literary Archive Marbach, Germany
State Library Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Osten Museum of Drawing, Skopje, Macedonia
Corvinus Presse, Berlin, Germany
Rolfe Judd, London, UK
Blankpage Architects, Beirut, Libanon
Indigo Blue Group, New York, USA
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian democratic movement

curating experience

2021, Curating the exhibition of the Belarusian Protest Art Hostages 2021 in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Foundation, St. Martini Church, Braunschweig, Germany (press release)
2020, Curating the exhibition of the Belarusian Protest Art Hostages 2020 in cooperation with Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany, St Petri, Hamburg, Germany
2020, Curating the exhibition of the Belarusian Protest Art Identification in cooperation with Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany, St. Mary's Church, Lübeck, Germany

GALLERIES

MinEastry of Postcollapse Art and Culture (MPAC), Zürich, Switzerland
Von Fraunberg Art Gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany
Anise Gallery, London, UK

MEMBERSHIPS

BBK Hamburg (Professional association of visual artists), Germany
ArtCan, non-profit arts organisation, London, UK