Born in Belarus in 1978, Helen Shulkin completed a degree in Fine Art and Drawing at Belarusian State University in Minsk in 2001, where she studied under Professor Shikulov. Since 2020, she has been living and working in Hamburg, Germany.

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 vulnerability and resilience. Her canvases are not representations of physical spaces but dissections of their underlying anatomy, exposing 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 maps of the human condition as they are manifestos of humanity’s need to inscribe meaning onto the lifeless fabric of our constructed world.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2025, NORDWESTKUNST 2025, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven,, Germany (exhibition of nominated artists)
2025, 48th Art Prize of the Cultural Foundation of the Sparkasse Karlsruhe, Germany (exhibition of nominated artists)
2025, Structures, KURA Gallery, Hamburg, Germany (two-person)
2025, 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
2023, Unheimlich.Grossartig, Atelierhaus Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
2022, Moving Cities: a changing metropolis, Anise Gallery, London, UK (two-person)
2022, ARTmaniac, Nachtbrötchen, Düsseldorf, Germany
2021, Inspire, D-Contemporary, London, UK
2020, Cultivate Presents, Cultivate Gallery, London, UK
2020, OSTEN Biennial of Drawing, National Gallery of Macedonia, Skopje, (exhibition of nominated artists)
2019, Spring Show, The Artistry House, Preston, UK
2018, Solo exhibition of awarded artists, OSTEN Biennial of Drawing, Gallery OSTEN, Skopje, North Macedonia (solo)
2018, Rolfe Judd 5XIO, 5-person show, commissioned works for Rolfe Judd, The Bridge Theatre, London, UK
2018, From ArtCan with Love, The Fitzrovia Gallery, London, UK
2017, Great Escapes, Nude Tin Can Gallery, St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK
2017, Strom, QQArt Gallery, Hilden, Germany (exhibition of nominated artists)
2016, Art Award of the Town of Weilburg an der Lahn, Municipal Museum, Germany (exhibition of nominated artists)
2016, Artig Art-Award, Gallery Kunstreich, Kempten, Germany (exhibition of nominated artists)
2016, Art Award of the Town of Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Town Hall, Germany (exhibition of nominated artists)
2015, Bonn Women’s Museum Art Fair 25, Frauenmuseum Bonn, Germany

ART FAIRS & OTHERS

2025, Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, represented by Anise Gallery, London, UK
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, Vienna, Austria
2018–2019, Exhibition of works on Holland America Line cruise ships, represented by Artlink Gallery, London, UK

CURATING

2021, Hostages 2021, exhibition of Belarusian protest art, curated in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Foundation, St. Martini Church, Braunschweig, Germany
2020, Hostages 2020, exhibition of Belarusian protest art, curated in cooperation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany, St. Petri Church, Hamburg, Germany
2020, Identification, exhibition of Belarusian protest art, curated in cooperation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany, St. Mary’s Church, Lübeck, Germany

NOMINATIONS & AWARDS

2025, Nomination for NORDWESTKUNST 2025, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, Germany
2025, Nomination for the 48th Art Prize of the Cultural Foundation of Sparkasse Karlsruhe, Germany
2018, OSTEN Award, OSTEN Biennial of Drawing, Gallery OSTEN, Skopje, North 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

PUBLICATIONS

2024, From Minsk to Hamburg: The Artistic Evolution of Helen Shulkin, Aatonau, Japan
2023, I will survive, Body & Soul – Nr. 28, Corvinus Presse, Berlin, Germany
2023, Ritmo, color y composición, The Core, Mexico City, Mexico
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
2016, Paintings of Industrial and Urban Places, fubiz, Paris, France

COLLECTIONS

German Literature Archive, Marbach, Germany
Berlin State Library, Berlin, Germany
Osten Museum of Drawing, Skopje, North Macedonia
Rolfe Judd, London, UK
MATTER Architects, Auckland, New Zealand
Blankpage Architects, Beirut, Lebanon

GALLERY REPRESENTATION & COLLABORATIONS

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