Karoliina Hellberg

The exhibition of the celebrated artist and superwoman Karoliina Hellberg opens today at Galerie Anhava.

I was happy to stop by for the first viewing yesterday and I found a piece that I can hardly wait to hang in my home when the exhibition ends in November.

As many of you know, Hellberg's signature style is very rich and lush. Her paintings often feature some type of living space and there are a lot of delicious details in them: green plants, flowers, paintings, sculptures, colorful surfaces.

At a quick glance you might think the bigger works require a big space and a lot of room around them.

But look again. The pieces can also be approached from a different angle, at least when hung with consideration like at Anhava.

Instead of anything pointing out or coming at you, many of the paintings almost serves as an additional room when hung on a wall. Something that you mentally walk into to explore. A bit like the effect a mirror has to a room if you hung it opposite the window to duplicate the view.

Only Hellberg’s view is from a dream. It is a story book on your wall that you want to explore and dive into, over and over again.

October 27 – November 20
Galerie Anhava
Fredrikinkatu 43
00120 Helsinki