La MaMa Galleria is honored to present “Humanity & Divinity”, an art exhibition by Helen Lavelle. This show will be on view in the East Village Gallery at 47 Great Jones Street New York, NY (between Bowery and Lafayette Streets) from January 14 to February 4, 2023, Thursday through Sunday from 1-7 PM, with an opening reception scheduled on Saturday, January 14, from 5:30-8:30 PM.

A nationally recognized leader in the advertising industry, Ms. Lavelle’s drawings and paintings explore the artist’s personal journey through pain and vulnerability to resilience and grace. The exhibit is curated by C. Finley, founder of the Every Woman Biennial-NYC, London, LA.

Acknowledging that loss of life, the pandemic, political climate, racial hatred, war and economic uncertainty have given rise to unprecedented and unbearable pain, Ms. Lavelle’s work puts it center stage. But she does not stop there.

The exhibit, which includes both figurative and landscape pieces is designed to remind viewers that the path from humanity to divinity lies in a personal connection to nature. “Nature is our greatest teacher, Lavelle states. Life and death, love and loss, pain and promise…the opportunity to transform in the face of tragedy, to recover (as does nature) is cellular.” 

For Lavelle, painting is a spiritual process. Landscapes created in Ireland while experiencing extreme grief and sorrow express both heaviness and connection to universal energy.

As to her figurative work, Lavelle explains, “Connecting on a deeper level with nature and God allowed me to portray moments of human vulnerability that are real, raw and honest. I can barely look at them myself.”

Lavelle has had more than her fair share of grief, having lost multiple friends and members of her own family to addiction, to AIDs, and to the inability for many to move forward in life. She knows that art heals, brings forth light, even in the deepest darkness. 

An advocate for the arts in every genre, she understands that the arts help move people through life’s circumstances. Her hope is that through this exhibition, people will see something in themselves that is about transformation.