Laura Helene Sebastian

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About the artist

Laura Helene Sebastian, b. 1996 based in Richmond, VA.Helene Sebastian is a self-taught painter. Her home base in terms of a medium is gouache and acrylic paint, with the surface subject to the state of play she finds herself in. She is a lifelong creator, but fell in love with painting 6 years ago when our lives became confined to our homes.Helene Sebastian's works ask the viewer to consider how the objects we pass by and dispose of are significant markers of everyday interactions, that these moments are the foundations of our existence far more than milestones.The subjects in her pieces are the brushed-off scenery and items that we encounter in our daily lives: landscapes that fly by our car windows, receipts at the bottom of bags, trash lying atop grass, bedsheets holding the shape of a loved one. They are as special as they are universal, ways we connect to ourselves and to others.These artworks, shrines to seemingly mundane activities that make us inexplicably human, are her attempts to start conversations, thank loved ones, and find joy.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 a mentor in The Visual Arts Center of Richmond's Make Space Program.Her work is in the homes of collectors across the United States and in the permanent collection of The Richmond Public Library.To learn more about her process and keep in touch, subscribe to her newsletter via the button below.

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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.

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I can't tell what's special if everything is
July 2026
Burren College of Art

photos courtesy of Rebecca Pempek

My time in Ireland was so incredibly special, in no small part due to the artists I created alongside. This show was an effort to "scrapbook" those memories to hold me over until we all meet again and discuss them.

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.

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