Born in Belarus, Helen Shulkin graduated with a Specialist Diploma in Fine Arts and Drawing (specialization: Folk Arts and Crafts) from the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maksim Tank (BSPU), Minsk, Belarus. She has been based in Norderstedt (Hamburg metropolitan region), Germany, since 2020.

STATEMENT

I build paintings as structures under pressure. At first glance, they read architecturally: overhangs, supports, planes, passages, and barriers regulate the gaze and the distribution of weight – constriction, passage, congestion, pull. Space appears as a condition rather than a place.

At the same time, the support is from the outset a layered body. Oil accumulates, gathers at the edges, and is either sealed or left open. I work in cycles of construction and exposure: on canvas, the image builds in dense layers; on paper, I apply layers and cut back into them with a scalpel – scraping, lifting, tearing. The support is allowed to overreact: delamination becomes part of the structure.

In some works, a sealed pocket of pigment lies within the work; a cut breaks it open, releasing a fluid trace that follows pressure, gravity, and chance. What first appears as a spatial order shifts, in the act of viewing, into a bodily condition. What matters is what a surface can hold – and where it no longer can.

EDUCATION

1996-2001
Fine Arts and Drawing (specialization: Folk Arts and Crafts), Specialist Diploma, Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maksim Tank (BSPU), Minsk, Belarus

SOLO & TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS

2025
Structures, KURA Gallery, Hamburg, Germany (two-person exhibition)

2022
Moving Cities: a changing metropolis, Anise Gallery, London, UK (two-person exhibition)

2021
Other Coordinates, solo exhibition within the framework of the KinoHafen forum, Kommunales Kino METROPOLIS, Hamburg, Germany (funded by the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media)

2018
Solo exhibition of prize-winning artists (OSTEN Biennial of Drawing), Gallery OSTEN, Skopje, North Macedonia

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2026
49th Art Prize of the Cultural Foundation of Sparkasse Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany. Nominated.

2025
NORDWESTKUNST 2025, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Nominated.

48th Art Prize of the Cultural Foundation of Sparkasse Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany. Nominated.

The Shape It Takes, Galerie Grolman, Berlin, Germany.

2024
Future Perfect, Durden and Ray Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.

2023
FORWARD, Von Fraunberg Art Gallery & Taylor Wessing, Düsseldorf, Germany.

Unheimlich.Grossartig, Atelierhaus Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.

Gretchenfrage 2.0, SAP Art exhbition, Walldorf, Germany.

2022
ARTmaniac, Kunstklub Nachtbrötchen e.V., Düsseldorf, Germany.

2021
Inspire, D-Contemporary Gallery, curated by ArtCan, London, UK.

2020
OSTEN Biennial of Drawing, National Gallery of North Macedonia, Skopje, North Macedonia. Nominated.

Cultivate Presents, Cultivate Gallery, London, UK.

Elevate 02, Duff & Phelps & ArtCan, London, UK.

2019
44 ArtWorks @ 44 Hallam Street, Cavendish Venues, curated by ArtCan, London, UK.

2018
OSTEN Biennial of Drawing, National Gallery of North Macedonia, Skopje, North Macedonia. Nominated.

Atlantic Contemporary Art Show, Artistry House, Preston, UK.

From ArtCan with Love, ArtCan Postcard Fundraiser Exhibition, Fritzovia Gallery, curated by ArtCan, London, UK.

2017
STROM, finalists’ exhibition for the 7th International Juried Art Prize of Galerie QQArt, QQArt, in cooperation with Kulturamt Hilden and Sparkasse Hilden · Ratingen · Velbert, Hilden, Germany (online catalogue).

2016
Kunstpreis der Stadt Weilburg an der Lahn 2016, finalists’ exhibition, Bergbau- und Stadtmuseum (Mining and Municipal Museum), Stadt Weilburg an der Lahn, in cooperation with Volksbank Mittelhessen, Weilburg an der Lahn, Germany

artig Kunstpreis 2016, finalists’ exhibition, Galerie Kunstreich, organised by artig e.V., Kempten (Allgäu), Germany.

ART FAIRS

2025
Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, The Summer Edition, London, UK (represented by Anise Gallery)

2024
Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, London, UK (represented by Anise Gallery)

BENEFIT / CHARITY (SELECTED)

2021
Charity art auction in aid of CS Hospice Care Vienna (benefit), in cooperation with Sotheby’s and Rotary Clubs Vienna-West, Vienna, Austria (online catalogue).

CURATORIAL PRACTICE & ACTIVISM

2020–present
Founder and Director of New Belarus Art (gUG), Germany, a non-profit platform supporting Belarusian artists affected by political repression and displacement.

2021
Curator of Hostages, an exhibition of Belarusian protest art, presented in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation at St. Martini Church, Braunschweig, Germany.

2020
Curator of Hostages, an exhibition of Belarusian protest art, presented in cooperation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany (Nordkirche) at St. Petri Church, Hamburg, Germany.

Curator of Identification, an exhibition of Belarusian protest art, presented in cooperation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany (Nordkirche) at St. Mary’s Church, Lübeck, Germany.

NOMINATIONS & AWARDS

2026
Nominated for the 49th Art Prize of the Cultural Foundation of Sparkasse Karlsruhe, Germany.

2025
Nominated for NORDWESTKUNST 2025, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, Germany.

2025
Nominated for the 48th Art Prize of the Cultural Foundation of Sparkasse Karlsruhe, Germany.

2020
Nominated for the OSTEN Biennial of Drawing, Skopje, North Macedonia. Organised in cooperation with the National Gallery of North Macedonia and Gallery OSTEN.

2018
Recipient of the OSTEN Award for Individual Presentation, OSTEN Biennial of Drawing, North Macedonia. Presented in cooperation with the National Gallery of North Macedonia and Gallery OSTEN.

2017
Nominated for the 7th International Juried Art Prize of Galerie QQArt, STROM, QQArt, in cooperation with Kulturamt Hilden and Sparkasse Hilden · Ratingen · Velbert, Hilden, Germany (online catalogue).

2016
Nominated for the OSTEN Biennial of Drawing, Skopje, North Macedonia. Organised in cooperation with the National Gallery of North Macedonia and Gallery OSTEN.

Nominated for the Kunstpreis der Stadt Weilburg an der Lahn 2016, Bergbau- und Stadtmuseum (Mining and Municipal Museum), in cooperation with Volksbank Mittelhessen, Weilburg an der Lahn, Germany.

Nominated for the artig Kunstpreis 2016, Galerie Kunstreich, organised by artig e.V., Kempten (Allgäu), Germany (online catalogue).

PUBLICATIONS / INTERVIEWS / CATALOGUES

2026
Painting Spaces that are Extensions of Us. Interview with Helen Shulkin. Suboart Magazine, no. 56. Lisbon, Portugal, 2026, pp. 87-91..

2023
I Will Survive. Body & Soul, no. 41. Berlin: Corvinus Presse, 2023. Handbound artist publication with signed original work by Helen Shulkin.

2023
“Ritmo, color y composición.” In THE CORE Design, special issue CHAIN + SIMAN + Architectural Design. Text by Nayeli Hernández Flores. Mexico City, Mexico, 2023, pp. 58–67.

2021
Imagine All the People. Body & Soul, no. 36a. Berlin: Corvinus Presse, 2021. Handbound artist publication with signed original work by Helen Shulkin.

2020
People Have the Power. Body & Soul, no. 33. Berlin: Corvinus Presse, 2020. Handbound artist publication with signed original work by Helen Shulkin.

2020
OSTEN Biennial of Drawing Skopje 2020. Ed. by Kornelija Koneska. Skopje: OSTEN, 2020. Catalogue featuring Helen Shulkin’s work in the finalists’ selection. Text in Macedonian and English.

2018
OSTEN Biennial of Drawing Skopje 2018. Ed. by Kornelija Koneska. Skopje: Osten, 2018. Catalogue documenting Helen Shulkin’s award-winning presentation (OSTEN Award for Individual Presentation). Text in Macedonian and English. ISBN 978-608-4837-04-6. Copy held in the collection of the National and University Library “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Skopje.

2018
“The Best Abstract Artist of the Month.” The Guide Artists Magazine, issue 14, April 2018, Spain.

2018
Cover image and feature in Office et Culture, issue 48. Paris, France, 2018.

2018
“Post Urbanity.” ARTICULATE, issue 15. Denmark,

2017
You’ll Never Walk Alone. Body & Soul, no. 28. Berlin: Corvinus Presse, 2017. Handbound artist publication with signed original work by Helen Shulkin.

2016
Early One Morning. Body & Soul, no. 26. Berlin: Corvinus Presse, 2016. Handbound artist publication with signed original work by Helen Shulkin.

2016
OSTEN Biennial of Drawing Skopje 2016. Edited by Kornelija Koneska. Skopje: OSTEN, 2016. Catalogue featuring Helen Shulkin’s work as finalist. Text in Macedonian and English. ISBN 978-608-65850-7-5. Copy held in the collection of the National and University Library “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Skopje.

COLLECTIONS

German Literature Archive Marbach, Germany, signed original works published in Body & Soul / Corvinus

PresseBerlin State Library, Germany, signed original works published in Body & Soul / Corvinus Presse

Rolfe Judd, London, UK

MATTER Architects, Auckland, New Zeeland

Blankpage Architects, Beirut, Lebanon

GALLERIES & COLLABORATIONS

Anise Gallery, London, UK

Von Fraunberg Art Gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany

Galerie KURA, Hamburg, Germany

MinEastry of Postcollapse Art and Culture (MPAC), Zurich, Switzerland

MEMBERSHIPS

Bundesverband Bildender Künstlerinnen und Künstler (BBK) Hamburg (Professional Association of Visual Artists), Germany

Kulturwerk Sh, Pinneberg, Germany

ArtCan, Orchard Road Baldock Hertfordshire, UK