Helen Beard is a contemporary artist whose work focuses on human connection, pleasure and joy. The work comprises of paintings in widely varying scales that vibrate with movement and colour in a celebration of the erotic experience. Using a rich palette and different perspectives to accentuate intimate acts, her paintings are typified by their utilisation of sinuous brush strokes in a motion akin to stroking skin. This distinctive texture and technique brings energy to her work, emphasising the joy of sex via the female gaze.
Your work celebrates female sexual desire, what does it mean to you to place that perspective at the centre of your practice?
Initially it was a very personal decision to celebrate female desire in my work, as sex was something that was important to me and I felt it was often seen as shameful to express your own desires as a woman. Women should have an equal right to express their interest in sex and not just as means of procreation. Men seemed to monopolise this sphere and it felt obvious that women should feel happy to discuss their own desire unapologetically.
Historically, female desire has been underrepresented, ignored & misunderstood, what nuances are you most interested in expressing?
I think female pleasure should be celebrated, and it is often ignored or seen as unimportant. I want to express the joy that can be had from knowing your own body, learning to express your desires to a partner, and taking pleasure from something that is a fundamental part of most humans’ psyche intrinsic to the survival of the species, but also offering comfort, connection and pleasure which are such important aspects that enrich our lives.
What continues to inspire you within the theme of intimacy?
I am inspired by the never-ending possibilities of describing intimacy. Sex is never the same and has infinite options. It can be a form of creative expression, but also a very powerful way of connecting with another person, and experiencing all the dopamine and endorphins that come with that.
Helen Beard, Illicit Kisses, 2020, Oil on canvas, 1500mm x 1300mm
The brushwork in your paintings is described as ‘akin to stroking skin:’ can you talk about the physicality of your process?
The brushwork in my paintings is sensuous and rhythmic, and I love to move my body as I make the marks. Equally, the process is very constrained and takes an enormous amount of concentration to keep the colours separate but still in dialogue with each other.
Can you expand on your use of colour in your work, as it is rarely literal, is it an emotional or sensory language?
In my work, the colour is not literal at all – I rarely use a realistic colour! But it is most definitely a sensory experience. I love the reaction that a colour can have with the adjacent colour, and how it can completely change when juxtaposed with another different one. There is a comparison to be had with the infinite possibilities of connections between two (or more) people, and it is exciting to find a frisson between two (or more) colours like discovering an electric charge in a relationship.
Helen Beard, God's Rays, 2026, oil on canvas, 15 x 15 x 4 cm, £2500
Included in AOAP Projects' Summer Show Illuminated at the Royal Society of Arts
You shift between close-cropped views and wider compositions: how does scale influence the emotional impact of a piece?
I have been playing around with scale, and I much prefer working at large scale because, when they are so large, the shapes and forms become more abstracted. But the constraints of making something tiny is also so interesting. One of my favourite pieces is the new one I have made for the RSA show even though it is only 10x10 cm.
Can you talk about the piece you’ve made for this show & how it responded to the theme ‘illuminated?’
The piece that I have made for the RSA show was inspired by Crepuscular Rays – where you see a ray of light and a rain shower all at the same time – which I often see on the horizon in Brighton, where I live. They are also known as God’s Rays, Sun-Showers or God’s Fingers, all of which seemed very apt for my little painting.
Do you have any projects on the horizon that you would like to share?
I have recently started working on paper, which I have never done before. I will be showing these works later in the year at Paul Stolper Gallery in London.
I am also involved in the Brighton Festival Open houses this year with my new studio which has a collective of fifty artists in a group exhibition. @artcorebrighton
And at the end of May I am involved in a fantastic Gala organised by Adelaide Salon at Brighton Pavilion, the first time they have allowed contemporary art to be displayed in this opulent space. It will be a night full of music, performance, art and fashion.
Helen's work is featured as part of the AOAP Projects' Summer Show Illuminated at the Royal Society of Arts. The exhibition is on view from the 10th - 23rd June at the RSA and on our website.
Questions by Kate Reeve-Edwards
Banner image Right: Helen Beard, This Is The Colour Of My Dreams, 2020, Oil on canvas, 1000mm x 1100mm
