Today’s contemporary adult life is seemingly defined by hustle culture, digital saturation, and the relentless hum of burnout. Which is why Danish artist Helena Rye seeks to use her work to offer a profound visual antidote to the rat race. Her work—ethereal, soft-pastel compositions that seem to glow from within—functions as tools to help people ground themselves emotionally. This work comes from her own experience of transitioning from a high-stakes career in technology to the fluid world of fine art, providing what she calls "visual counterparts to mindfulness." Which is why her work is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Good Health and Well-Being.
Rye’s journey as a painter was catalyzed by a life-altering turning point. For years, she maintained a safe and stable career as a UI designer and front-end developer in Copenhagen. However, as she shared in interviews with TheArtGorgeous, a persistent unsettling feeling followed her whenever she strayed too far from her creative roots. The transition was eventually made official when she was laid off from her tech role—an unforeseen and negative circumstance that she grew to embrace as a sprouting moment. One that gave her the space to figure out her true identity as an artist. She described this moment as a move from the rigid, perfectionist world of IT—where every pixel is planned—to the blurry, organic transitions of soft pastels. A moment that allowed Rye to trade digital exhaustion for spiritual connection.
Rye’s current process focuses on allowing as many people as possible the same type of refuge she’s been able to cultivate. When her UI career demanded meticulous planning, her art is now a practice of surrender. This intuitive approach mirrors the spiritual goals of the Transcendental Painting Group, a movement of 1930s American artists like Agnes Pelton who sought to carry painting beyond the physical world.
As Rye explained to Cloud Collecting, she no longer plans her work down to the finest detail. Instead, she treats the act of creation as a meditative session, allowing shapes and forms seen with closed eyes to guide her hand. "Learning to let go of control has been my biggest challenge," she notes, "but it has also led to my best work." By setting the ego aside, her paintings of glowing florals, fluid drapery and water become vessels for an "ethereal energy" that invites the viewer into a state of quiet introspection.
For Rye, the aesthetic of her miniature worlds is inextricably linked to her own physiological well-being. Identifying as a highly sensitive person, she recognizes that her environment directly impacts her creative channel. This realization prompted her to move from the center of Copenhagen to the suburbs, closer to nature, where the stillness helps keep her nervous system grounded.
This lifestyle shift is also reflected in her choice of medium. The flexibility of soft pastels allows for immediate, tactile changes, while her burgeoning oil practice utilizes a glazing technique—building up thin, luminous layers to achieve a 3D depth. As seen in her 2025 exhibition Veils of Becoming at Galeria 18, these techniques create a sense of "stillness as power."
Ultimately, Helena Rye’s work serves as a sanctuary for the modern nervous system. By prioritizing slow, patient transformation over the relentless speed of modern life, she validates the human need for rest and spiritual reconnection. Her art reminds audiences that wellness is not merely the absence of stress, but the active creation of a space where the soul can finally feel at home.
For more information about Helena Rye’s paintings, visit her website www.helenarye.com or Instagram @helenarye.