Karolina Hellberg @ Elizabeth Xi Bauer

Flowers are invariably to be found around Karoliina Hellberg’s house, scattered in pots, planters and vases through all stages of their perennial existence. They are present in her studio as muses who shift seasonally, taking turns to make an entrance into her paintings – and sometimes, to the paintings within her paintings. They inform the way she breathes and even the way she stretches or combs her hair. In her private glossary, they each stand for a different mindset; there are flowers to grieve, flowers to cheer and flowers to read. They are the element that runs through all the works on show in Labyrinth – and, indeed, through most of her oeuvre.