The paintings of Helen Lopez are deceptively well-crafted. The solidity of her colour work, within the simplistic form of the images, produces a depth, dimension and movement that, whilst being immensely strong and vibrant, retains a remarkable subtlety. The imagery she uses lends itself well to this treatment. All her compositions are from mixtures of single defined memories; the sea, birds, trees, angels, flowers, sexuality, herself and relationships. These various themes seem to arrive in clusters as though they had recently been mopped up by her memory and suddenly wrung out in paint.

Do not, however, be misled. These compositions are remarkably tight and balanced; an indication of her academic skills gained from years of looking at the work and paintings of others, as well as of her formative Art School years. This artist is not a naive painter. A deep understanding of colour, light and form enables her to generate these mental portraits. This transference of mental images into paint seems to suggest an artistic urgency to clear a space in the mind into which the next painting will be born. In this sense, the end result is undiluted; it is this quality which marks out the talent by which Helen Lopez and her work will be judged and remembered.

(Steve Brake)

Curriculum Vitae

Helen Lopez was born in London in 1961.

Education History 1972 -84

Virgo Fidelis Convent School. Purley High School. Chelsea School of Art Foundation Course in Art and Design. Liverpool Polytechnic BA Hons Fine Art.

Performance 1982-1997

Angel of Fire Festival Melkweg Amsterdam. Edinburgh Festival. Liverpool Polytechnic.

Employment 1979-98

Aemens Ceramics. Mountain Films Cottage Industries. Children's Art Workshops in Clwyd, Gwynedd and Ucheldre Centre. Set up and ran Children's Art Club in Oriel Bangor. Co-tutor Foundation of Visual Arts Course in Menai Bridge and Holyhead. WEA Project Developer WEA

Open Exhibitions 1988-94

Oriel Bangor. Beaumaris Festival. The Probity of Virtue, Oriel Mostyn, Llandudno. Under the Eye of Saturn, Oriel Mostyn, Ucheldre Centre, Holyhead. Llanidloes Christmas Show, Studio 13

Exhibitions 1988 -97

Solo - The Procrustean Bed, Theatr Gwynedd, Bangor. Joint - Oriel Bangor. Joint - Denbigh Library Museum and Art Gallery. Joint - Community Gallery, Theatr Clwyd, Mold. Solo - Community Gallery, Theatr Clwyd, Mold. Solo - Studio Eight, Ruthin Craft Centre. Solo - Llangollen Library. Solo - Rhyl Library Museum and Art Gallery. Joint -Studio Thirteen, Llanidloes, Powys. Solo - Rhyl Library Museum and Art Gallery. Solo - Llanidloes Studio 13. The Last Dance, Oriel Theatre Clwyd. The World of Helen Lopez Touring Exhibition.