Helene Steene’s work is well recognized for its many layered depth, intensity of colors, and elegance of surface. She combines classical oil glaze techniques, using natural dry mineral pigments, over marble dust, with contemporary brushed metal on wood and/or paper.

“Call Steene’s paintings the fusion of geometry and grace, which probes and pierces or let us say we gaze out from the eye of light itself.”
                         Peter Abbs, Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing,
                                          University of Sussex, Great Britain   

 Many of her works are inspired by the soft white walls, and weathered wood works she encounters on the Greek island of Paros, as well as the local fauna and the ever-changing sea. The sense of layered history from antiquity to more recent times is very present on this
island, famous for its white translucent marble, which has inspired Steene to experiment with marble dust to create a sense of contemporary fresco surfaces.

In 2021 her first book, “AEGEAN ECHOES’ was published. A visual visit to Paros in photos of the island and through the paintings inspired by this special place

 
 "Steene's luminous layers of colors and intuitively balanced structure are reminiscent of Rothko's luminous paintings. Her visual subtleties slow down the viewing process and contribute to an overall sense of harmony and inner peace, one that serves as an antidote to today's fast-paced, chaotic world."
 
                         Jane S. Peters, Professor Emerita, Art History
                          & Visual Studies, University of Kentucky, USA
 
Many other of her paintings include Ginkgo leaves as they represent nature from ancient to present times as well as the concept of healing. She also has been working on a series of circular forms, representing a sense of centeredness which always has been important to her.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
 ARTIST STATEMENT
     
"Whether my work is abstract, non-objective or figurative, there is always a search for something that signifies a subtle inner beauty, depth and simplicity even when the forms are complex. I am intrigued by the tension between, forms, lines and colors that ultimately can resolve in harmony. Sometimes, this is achieved with more obvious forms, and sometimes, with a delicate balance attempting to give substance to the space that exists precisely because there are no objects.
If my work can slow someone down to contemplate something within her or himself - if it can add a moment of focus on their inner peace in this absurd world - then I have reached the viewer. We, the viewer and the mark maker, would be connected through that ephemeral magic that is all around, as I am convinced that one's range of intellect is so trivial in the face of greater mysteries."


She was born in Sweden and moved to the United States in 1976.