Evaluator Helena Barbagelata (artist)

Helena Barbagelata. She studied Philosophy, Art, Literature and Politics and was the recipient of several research and art fellowships from the Onassis Foundation/University of Athens, Università di Trieste, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat de Valencia, among others. Helena is a multidisciplinary artist, fashion model and researcher, that works predominantly in the medium of painting, but includes mixed media in her larger scale installations. Her artworks combine mixed media, acrylics, ink and watercolor techniques and has been exhibited in Europe, South America and the United States. Helena is also an author and curator in several literary publications. Her artwork takes a personal approach to social, political, cultural and environmental issues. She engages with different subjects, combining different poetical symbolism and arranging them into new conceptually layered pieces. She enjoys exploring fluidity of form and dream-like hues and qualities, suggesting notions of calmness and harmony. While she uses a variety of techniques and materials, her methodology is consistent determined by her subject matter and formal concerns. She enjoys bringing life to the canvas and creating artworks that are personal and which also express a sense of interconnectedness and social responsibility. She works back and forth between drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpting and writing. Her interdisciplinary practice illuminates unexpected facets of subjects, and generates new approaches and ideas. As an expressionist, she attempts to depict not objective reality, but rather the subjective emotions and responses that subjects and events inspire, in order to explore greater emotional depths and the intricacies of humanity.