Artworks by Helena Palazzi

I am a Swedish-Italian artist based in Kingston, New York. My creative journey has taken me across countries and disciplines, each shaping the way I see the world and the work I make today.

I grew up in Sweden and moved to Italy in my twenties to study at the Academy of Fine Arts Pietro Vannucci in Perugia. Living in Italy immersed me in art, design, and craftsmanship, while also teaching me to trust both intuition and discipline in the creative process.

After graduating, I moved to New York City, where I spent more than twenty years working as a professional photographer in the fashion and commercial industry. Photography taught me to observe—to pay attention to light, composition, texture, and the quiet details that often go unnoticed.

In 2019, I left the city for the Hudson Valley, where I found the time and space to fully embrace my own artistic practice again. Today, I divide my time between painting and monotype printmaking, creating abstract works that explore the space between revealing and concealing, presence and absence, and order and intuition.

Working with oil, acrylic, graphite, ink, and mixed media, I build each piece through many translucent layers. Paint is poured, brushed, wiped away, scratched back, and glazed, allowing earlier decisions to remain visible beneath the surface. Monotype printmaking has become an important part of my practice as well. I love its balance of control and unpredictability, and the discoveries I make while printing often influence my paintings.

My work is inspired by atmosphere more than place, and by the belief that less can often say more. I am drawn to simplicity, subtle shifts in tone, and the quiet spaces where meaning is left open rather than defined. My hope is that each piece invites viewers to slow down, look a little longer, and discover something new each time they return to it.