ARTIST STATEMENT
My work is an act of reconciliation, a dialogue between the fractured and whole, the personal and collective. Through painting, sculpture, and public art, I explore identity as a constellation of contradictions: strength and softness, divinity and dirt, beauty and the everyday. By layering these tensions into tangible forms I challenge static notions of race and belonging.
As a biracial artist, I’ve learned that identity is both inherited and invented. This fuels my collaborative practice, where community stories become material; whether etched into metal, woven into murals, or fired onto ceramics. My public works honor histories while making space for new narratives. Art making is a ritual. A way to mourn, mend, and reimagine what connects us.
BIO
Helen Juliet Atkins is a New Mexico-based artist and curator whose work centers humanity; its resilience, contradictions, and collective memory. Born in Albuquerque to a Black Venezuelan mother and White American father, her biracial heritage informs her multidisciplinary practice, which spans multimedia installations and community-engaged projects.
A recipient of the 2018 Women in Creativity “Shine” Award, Helen co-founded Plates Against Patriarchy (2019), a ceramic storytelling initiative. She was a selected artist for the Lowe’s “100 Murals” project (2021). Her installations have been featured in Judy Chicago’s Wo/Manhouse 2022 (Belen, NM), and the Paseo Project (Taos 2025). Helen serves as Director of Opportunity at Harwood Art Center (ABQ), where she organizes opportunities for fellow artists. Her work has been supported by residencies like the Kennedy Heights Arts Center (Cincinnati, 2021). In 2025, she and her husband / collaborator Will Geusz completed the public artwork “Resilience", honoring the Greenwood community, including survivors and descendants of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
CV HIGHLIGHTS
EXHIBITIONS & INSTALATIONS:
2022 Wo/ManHouse 2022, Presented by Through the Flower, Belen, New Mexico, (group)
2021 Fragility, Secret Gallery. Albuquerque New Mexico, (solo)
2020 soft, the Harwood Art Center. Albuquerque New Mexico, (solo)
2019 "Lady's Club" A Room For Ones Own, birds + Richard, Berlin, Germany (group)
PUBLIC WORKS:
"Resilience" steel, exterior ceramic mosaic panels, and paint made in collaboration with Will Geusz, North Boston Avenue Underpass Tulsa, Oklahoma, 2025
"Mullein & Mallow " exterior handmade ceramic mosaic panels made in collaboration with Will Geusz, FortLogan Mental Health Institute of Denver, Colorado 2022
ARTIST TALKS:
National Hispanic Cultural Center History Festival in conjunction with the temporary mural “Hidden Histories” 2020
MEDIA
"OK Arts Council celebrates unveiling of Pathway To Hope Public Art Trail" Story by Jade Morrow, FOX News 23, August 19, 2025
"Pathway To Hope Public Art Trail Dedicated Along i-244" Article by Randy Kerhbiel, Tulsa World, August 19, 2025
"At Your Service" Highlight, ABQ the Magazine, June 2024 Issue
"Wo/Manhouse" Review by Lauren Tresp, SouthWest Contemporary, Vol.6 Rooted: Poetics of Place, Southwest Contemporary Magazine August 26, 2022
"Judy Chicago’s Wo/Manhouse 2022 Could Use Some More Diversity" Review by Annie Bielski, Hyperallergic, July 24, 2022
"Art Heals at Secret Gallery" the Magazine, May 2022
"The Place Where Your Heart Is" Public Art Celebrates community in Albuquerque's International District, South Westness Society & Culture Website Article 2021
"Bodies//Boundaries" Southwest Contemporary Magazine, Spring Issue Feature 2021
"Belly up" Harwood exhibition an ode to tummies of all shapes and sizes the Albuquerque Journal 2020
"Helen Atkins: Painter, ceramicist, arts educator and activist" High School Daze Podcast 2020
"For the Record" Albuquerque Artist During COVID-19 Documentarian Malinda Frame 2020
"Reset" Video statement with Helen Atkins, the birds+ Richard 2020
"Art at a Distance" Stories with Helen Atkins, the Harwood Art Center 2020
"Out of the Box" Murals in response to "Mundos de Mestizaje" the Albuquerque Journal 2020
"Exploring Identity Through Art" Bi-racial Unicorns Podcast 2019
"Changing the Narrative" Artists unite to create ‘Plates Against Patriarchy’ the Albuquerque Journal 2019
"Through the Fire" Ceramics show draws parallels between women and clay the Albuquerque Alibi 2019
"Forgotten Faces" Artist’s portraits ‘dismantle invisibility’ of homelessness The Albuquerque Journal 2019
"Rising Stars Shine" Emerging Artists of New Mexico The Albuquerque Journal 2018
"Women of Radiance" Edible Magazine Santa Fe Early Summer Edition Feature 2018
"Renewal & Community" Exhibit aims to raise awareness of homelessness The Albuquerque Journal 2018
CONTACT