
Portfolio
Collaborative Projects
Asphalt, Parking Lot, Rain Garden
Asphalt, Parking Lot, Rain Garden explores themes of abandonment and renewal within Philadelphia's vacant lots. The work engages materials such as cracked sidewalks, displaced plants, salvaged debris, and remnants of urban systems, often neglected or erased. This work transforms signs of loss into symbols of renewal. Inscribing these elements embodies quiet defiance, turning anonymity into shared experiences and fragility into resilience. The exhibition explores the potential futures found in the spaces between what is discarded and what remains. It poses questions about how defiance can transform absence into a language of collectivity. What thrives when we reject systems of exhaustion? How does refusal help us find solidarity?

Asphalt, Parking Lot, Rain Garden (gallery installation shot) 2025

Fault Lines (close up), 2025, Concrete, Glass, Dirt, Dandelion, clover, Goldenrod, Alfalfa

Fault Lines (close up), 2025, Concrete, Glass, Dirt, Dandelion, clover, Goldenrod, Alfalfa

You (close-up), 2025, Reclaimed found windowpane from a collapsed West Philadelphia home.

In the living room peeling skins (close-up), 2025, Reclaimed found wooden beam from a collapsed West Philadelphia home.

To remain, 2025, Concrete, Glass, Dirt, Dandelion, clover, Goldenrod, Alfalfa

Fault Lines, 2025, Concrete, Glass, Dirt, Dandelion, clover, Goldenrod, Alfalfa

In Memory of…, 2025, Spite bite aquatint on muslin

Asphalt, Parking Lot, Rain Garden (gallery installation shot) 2025
Index in Glass
This body of work employs print media and glass-blowing techniques to explore and distort the language found in printed ephemera, historical queer archives, protests, and poetry. I am particularly drawn to the cast shadows, reflections, and physical distortions that emerge within these materials. These elements reveal the framework of obscured information from media outlets, shedding light on the complexities of lived experiences.

Preserved Ephemera, 2024, Screen print enamel on kiln-formed glass

Language Barriers, 2024, Screen print, blown glass

Language Barriers, 2024, Screen print, blown glass
Mojave
This series explores visibility and displacement through an assemblage of photography, printmaking, and glass-blowing. I look to create a sense of fragility in memories, and in illusions of the world we believe in while overcoming it through resilience. Through the layering of materials, I merge narratives and cast shadows, inviting viewers to question their perceptions, immediate surroundings, and ever-changing socio-political ecosystem.
I am interested in the interplay of opacities and transparencies. By piecing together found photos, text, and objects, I seek to reflect upon themes of belonging in an ever-changing ecosystem. This process becomes a poetic reflection to contemplate the intricate dynamics of memory and place.

Mojave, 2024, archival pigment print, screenprint, monoprint, etching, blown glass






Blowing Clouds
Blowing Clouds is an installation that features screen-printed cyanotype flags displayed in various public spaces throughout Philadelphia, PA. Over time, these flags have been exposed to the elements, resulting in physical damage and weathering. This work serves as a tribute to memorial sites dedicated to my queer community. The title, Blowing Clouds, also functions as a euphemism for drug addiction often encountered on queer dating sites. Through these installations, I aim to create a space for queer mourning and reflection.

Blowing Clouds, 2023, installation, screen-print, cyanotype, wood







Protest Language
This work addresses the accumulation of protests occurring throughout the United States, contemplating the evolution of protest over time and the continuity of protest language throughout history. Additionally, it examines the existence and impact of protests both within and outside institutional spaces.

Resist, 2024, screenprint on silk

In Times of Uncertainty, 2023, variable prints, lithography, screenprint
Intersect
Intersect speaks to the ever-present injustices we face in contemporary society by depicting common scenes of urban spaces to display often ignored locations. The printed text documents imposed standards, stories from others, and frustrations towards wealth inequality in the USA. The merging of landscapes and text draws connections to the intersection of shared experiences.

Intersect (gallery installation shot), 2022

Forget/Memoire, 2022, Casted Bronze

Tresspass/Community, 2022, Casted Bronze

Liability, 2022, Screen-print Monotype, Chine-Collé

Private, 2022, 22x30”. Drypoint, Monoprint, Chine-Collé

Exclude, 2022, 15x22”, Screenprint, Monoprint, Collage, Chine-Collé

Hung, 2022, 22x30”, Screenprint, Monoprint, Chine-Collé

Hidden, 2022, 33x40”, Screenprint, Monoprint, Collage, Chine-Collé

Critical, 2022, 22x15”, Screenprint, Monoprint, Collage, Chine-Collé

Affiliated, 2022, 33x40”, Screenprint, Monoprint, Collage, Chine-Collé

Intersect, 2022, 4 ½ x8’, Collage on Drywall with Monoprint, Acrylic, and Spray Paint
Print Archive
Artwork Title, Date
Future Proof
Future Proof is a newspaper publication compendium of artistic visions in response to the present moment. Inviting in utopic visions, critical perspectives, contemporary narratives, and prototypes of futures. Artists include Corinne Teed, Amze Emmons, Katie Garth, Ruben Castillo, Nilou Kazemzadeh, Jake Lahah, Henry Rosenberg, Heather Swenson, Francesca Lally, and Rae Helms.


In-Between Spaces
Thinking through collage and assembly, Rae Helms and Ari Zuaro explore themes of the built environment, the spaces in-between, and the history of community in Philadelphia. In a collaborative effort, and as two artists new to the city, they work by observing and deconstructing both archives and language.

In-Between Spaces, 2024, 30x22”, Screenprint, Chine-Collé

CV
Education
2025
MFA in Printmaking, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Philadelphia, PA
2022
BFA in Printmaking, California State University – Chico, CA
BA in Art History, California State University – Chico, CA
2018
Associate in Studio Arts - Antelope Valley College, Lancaster, CA
Associate in Art History - Antelope Valley College, Lancaster, CA
Associate in Political Science - Antelope Valley College, Lancaster, CA
Solo Exhibitions and Two Person Exhibitions
2025
Asphalt, Parking Lot, Rain Garden, Temple Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA
2022
Intersect, B-So Gallery, Chico, CA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
Tactical Communications, co-organized with by Francesca Lally, Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Extraction and Repair, Glass Sustainability Mirco-Symposium, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
All the small things, Micro Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, Curated by Srđan Tunić
Storytellers, Temple Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA
To hear to view, Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia, PA, Curated by Anthony Elms
2024
Echo-Systems, Temple Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA, Curated by Mollie Hansen
Future Proof, Tyler Print Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Fuzzy Forms, Stella Elkins Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Cabinet Of., Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
Edge Pattern, Tyler Print Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
In Flux, Atrium Gallery, Philadelphia PA
Mini-Print Exchange, Ayres Gallery, Chico, CA
Observations, Tyler Print Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2023
Members Showcase, 1078 gallery, Chico, CA
Pop Up Exhibition, Queer Art Club, Sacramento, CA
Enough is Enough: End Gun Violence, Haight Street Art Center, San Francisco, CA
Small Works and Altars, Chico Art Center, Chico, CA
Side by Side, Arthouse Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Bounds, Tyler Print Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2022
Alternative Print Methods and Forms, Curated by Koichi Yamamoto, Aaron Wilson and Tim Dooley, Fresno, CA.
26th Annual Ink & Clay, Juror: Golbanou Moghaddas, Janet Turner Print Museum, Home, B-So Gallery, Chico, CA
Emergence, Chartreuse Muse Gallery, Modesto, CA
37th Made in California, Brea Gallery, Brea, CA.
Casting Memory, Bell Memorial Union Gallery, Chico, CA
The Card Show, The Epitome Gallery, Eureka, CA
Art in the Valley, Arts Visalia, Visalia, CA
This Way to Sustainability 2022, Conference and Exhibition. CSU Colleges, CA
2021
25th Annual Ink & Clay, Juror: Kimiko Miyoshi, The Turner Print Museum, Chico, CA
65th Juried Student Exhibition, Juror: Reni Gower, Jacki Headley University Art Gallery, CSU-Chico
To Hold Another’s Hand, Jacki Headley University Art Gallery, CSU-Chico
Mini-Print Exchange 2021, B-So Gallery, Chico, CA
This Way to Sustainability 2021, Conference Exhibition, CSU Colleges, CA
Peripheral Prints, B-So Gallery, Chico, CA
2020
Reinventing Identity, Bell Memorial Union Gallery, Chico, CA
14th Annual California Centered: Printmaking, Merced Multicultural Center, Merced, CA
From the Ground Up, Brothers Gallery, Logan, UT
Firing Imaginations, Carnegie Arts Center, Turlock, CA.
Mojave Photography, MOAH Cedar Center, Lancaster, CA
California Landscapes, The Museum of Northern California Art, CA
Off the Wall, B-So Gallery, Chico, CA
Imagine Together, 1078 Gallery, Chico, CA
California Contemporary Sculpture, Juror: Linda Fleming, Chico Art Center, Chico, CA
Social Justice: Discovery Series, Juror: Carolyn Arredondo, Chico Arts Center, Chico, CA.
All-Media Annual Juried Exhibition, MOAH Cedar Center, Lancaster, CA
Teaching Experience
2024
Survey of Etching and Relief, Instructor of Record, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Philadelphia, PA
2022-2023
Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Printmaking and Intermediate Etching for Eileen Macdonald, California State University, Chico, CA
2020-2022
Art Instructor, Children’s Printmaking Workshop, Chico, CA
2021
Art Teacher, Philly Art Center, Philadelphia, PA
2019
Printmaking Instructor, Janet Turner Print Museum
Professional Experience
2024
Printmaking Studio Technician, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
2020-2023
Studio Technician and Residency Program Assistant, CSU-Chico, California
Lead Screen Printer and Press Operator, Silkshop, Chico, CA
Curatorial Assistant, Janet Turner Print Museum, Chico, CA
2017-2019
Gallery Assistant, MOAH, Lancaster, CA
Visiting Artist Lectures and Presentations
2025
No Office Space, SGCI Puertograbando Conference, San Juan, PR
2024
Accessing Archives: Transtemporal Connections, Transformative Practices, ASAP-15 (The Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present), New York City, NY
Student Lightening Talks, SGCI, Providence, RI
2022
Intersect - Dissonance in the built environment, Artist Talk, B-So Gallery, Chico, CA
Curatorial and Collaborative Projects
2025
Tactical Communications / Comunicación Táctica Co-organized with Francesca Lally, SGCI Puertograbando, San Juan, PR
2024
Fuzzy Forms, Co-organized with Maddie Rodriguez, Stella Elkins Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Observations, Tyler Print Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Share my Rage, fundraising workshop and exhibition, Big Ramp Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2022
Home, Exhibition, Print Exchange, and fundraiser in collaboration with 6th street center for LGBT+ youth, B-So Gallery, Chico, CA
2021
To Hold Another’s Hand, DACA Print Fundraiser, CSU-Chico Printmaking Club
Awards/Grants
2025
Graduate Fellowship Award, Southern Graphics Council International, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Dean’s Grant for Student Travel, Tyler School of Art and Architecture
Graduate Internship and full scholarship, Temple University
2024
Dean’s Grant for Student Research, Tyler School of Art and Architecture
2022
Student Excellence in Art History and Art Award, College of Humanities and Fine Art, CSU-Chico, CA
Jennifer Tancreto Award, Janet Turner Print Museum, Chico, CA
Paul Feldhaus Purchase Award, Janet Turner Print Museum, Chico, CA
2021
Dean’s Award, Jacki Headley Gallery, Chico, CA
Jennifer Tancreto Purchase Award, Janet Turner Print Museum, Chico, CA
Publications and Press
2025
Carte Blanche, Publication
Tactical Communications, Publication and Print Exchange
Commingle | Fragment, Publication and Print Exchange
Intersections 2025, MFA Catalog
To hear to view, Exhibition Catalog
2024
Future Proof, Publication
2020
Home, Exhibition Catalog
Organizations
2023-present
Graduate Arts Collective, Tyler School of Art, President
Southern Graphics Council International, Member
Mid America Print Council, Member
The Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present, Member
2020-2022
Chico State Printmaking Club, President
Info

Artist Statement
I create works that invite reflection on how cycles of use, neglect, and transformation shape the spaces we inhabit and the relationships they sustain. Through poetic interventions between print, sculpture, and glass, I form narratives of loss, care, and resilience. In doing so, I engage with material histories of extraction and consumption. Investigating the human imprint on our environment, my work explores the fragility of place and the traces we leave behind.
My practice is rooted in ecological resistance and examines the permanence of human impact while advocating for sustainable coexistence. I utilize remnants found in cities that serve as physical expressions of loss in both public and private spaces. These forms of remembrance raise questions about impermanence and the tension between preservation and erosion. I seek to preserve and to imagine new ways of caring for the spaces we inhabit, both individually and collectively.
Bio
Rae Helms is an interdisciplinary artist based in Philadelphia. Their work explores the intersection of queerness, ephemera, archival history, and language through print media, photography, glass, and installation. Helms received their BFA in Printmaking and BA in Art History from California State University - Chico, and a MFA in Printmaking at Tyler School of Art and Architecture.
Their work has been exhibited in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Helms was the recipient of the Jennifer Tancreto Award from the Janet Turner Printmaking Museum, the Dean's Award at CSU-Chico, and the Dean’s Grant for student research at Tyler School of Art. Rae has presented their research at Southern Graphic Council International and the Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present.
Rae's professional experience includes roles as a curatorial assistant at the Janet Turner Printmaking Museum, a printmaking studio technician, and an instructor of printmaking at CSU Chico. They also have a background in commercial screen-printing and the graphic design industry. Currently, Helms is an adjunct professor at Tyler School of Art and Architecture.