Laura Helene Sebastian
Artist
About the artist
Laura Helene Sebastian, b. 1996 self-taught painter based in Richmond, VA.Helene Sebastian's works ask the viewer to consider how the objects we value and hold onto, versus those we dispose of, reveal the slippery nature of our memories and the hierarchy we place those memories into.The scenery and items that we encounter in our daily lives are often brushed off; from the landscapes that fly by our car windows, receipts at the bottom of bags, chip bags lying atop grass, bed sheets holding the shape of a loved one. Yet all are markers of our existence.By immortalizing these objects and scenes in her paintings, Helene Sebastian creates shrines to the seemingly mundane activities that make us inexplicably human.In addition to her personal painting practice, she remains a proud and active member of the National Gallery of Art's copyist program and is an alum of The Visual Arts Center of Richmond's Make Space Program.Her work is in the homes of collectors across the United States.
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CVResidencies:Upcoming
Burren College of Art
Ballyvaughan, Ireland
July 2026Arts Letters & Numbers
Averill Park, NY
December 2025Solo Exhibitions:In the Cindery Darkness
Richmond Main Branch Library
June-August 2026At your convenience
Glencarlyn Library
Arlington, VA
June-August 2026Pantry
Central Library
Manassas, VA
March 2026Travel Companions
Arts, Letters, and Numbers
December 2025Different Side, Same Coin
IdeaSpace
Fredericksburg, VA
Nov-Dec 2025Invited Group Exhibitions:Local Catch, Pamplemousse Gallery
Richmond, VA
Aug-Sept 2024Selected Exhibitions:“Artist Choice” National All-Media Juried Exhibit
The Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts (FCCA)
June 2026Sultry Gallery x Richmond Public Library
Richmond Main Branch Library
Richmond, VA
Dec 2025-Feb 2026Open Salon Show
Envelope
Richmond, VA
March-April 2025Good Fences Make Good Neighbors
Gallery 5
Richmond, VA
Feb-March 2025Wall Mountables Exhibit
DC Arts Center
Washington, D.C
July-August 2023Annual March150
Target Gallery
Alexandria, VA
March-April 2023DC Bouldering Project Exhibition Eckington Hall
Washington, D.C
September-October 2022
If you'd like to inquire about a piece, or ask about a commission, please email [email protected]Payment can be processed via venmo, cashapp, or paypalShipping: anywhere in the US.
In the Cindery Darkness
June-August 2026
Richmond Public Library
The title of the show is an excerpt of the following quote from Phillip Roth’s “Goodbye, Columbus” said by the story’s narrator;“I thought of my Aunt Gladys and Uncle Max sharing a Mounds bar in the cindery darkness of their alley, on beach chairs, each cool breeze sweet to them as the promise of after life...” (Phillip Roth, Goodbye, Columbus)Since my first reading of the book, this quote has stayed with me, and like the summers throughout my life, has shaped my artistic practice. Seemingly forgettable moments, often relegated to the footnotes of our lives, are actually the foundation of our existence and far more significant than the typical milestones.The pieces in this show are monuments to memories; Stealing rolls of quarters from my family’s laundry room to use for snacks at a gas station up the road, afternoons spent reading in my backyard dipping my toes in a kiddie pool, weeks spent going up and down the boardwalk with a friend in Virginia Beach, time spent with the loves of my salad days, and noon swims that melted into night in the James River. None of these are graduations, weddings, birthdays, or funerals and yet they’ve made all the difference.
