Artospective: Paintings by Helen Masacz from London.

An Interview with Helen Masacz.

Who and where are you from?

I'm a London based artist of Irish and Polish descent born in Hammersmith.

How you got into this?

My painting career started late, Inspired by representational paintings by the Pre Raphaelites and the use of chiaroscuro by Caravaggio, I started painting in my early 40's after graduating with honours in fine art and then a brief atelier course in drawing.

What is your driving force?

To be the best artist I can be, for my work to improve and be collected world wide, to be able to make a decent living- compared to other professions, artists are undervalued whether it's music, paintings or literature.

What kind of work you do and why?

My oil paintings can be characterized by the use of traditional techniques with the goal of communicating contemporary culture. I use anecdotes to express contemporary culture within the Anthropocene era whether its political or environmental, some of which comes from the conscious and the subconscious. As a relatively new artist my work and ideas are constantly evolving. for too long now I feel painting has been unfashionable, but thats all changing. I enjoy using oil paint to illustrate a narrative and would like to contribute in bridging the gap between concept and representational art, making it more accessible to everyone.

I am also one of the founding members of Lot 5 Collective, we show work together a few times a year in London.