Helena has always been fascinated by the things we reveal and those we choose to keep hidden. Her paintings reflect this ongoing tension between restraint and expression, the desire to be seen and the instinct to remain unnoticed. These are contradictions she knows well, and ones that have found their way into her work over time.

Growing up in Sweden with a Swedish mother and Italian father, Helena was familiar with two different ways of expressing oneself. The Swedish idea of lagom, of knowing when something is enough, existed alongside a more expressive Italian influence. Neither has entirely won out, and this negotiation between moderation and expression continues to find its way into her work.

At the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia, Italy, Helena explored painting, photography and unconventional materials. The influence of Arte Povera, with its emphasis on experimentation, ordinary materials and the physical process of making, encouraged an openness to the unexpected that remains central to her practice.

In 1998, she moved to New York City, where she spent more than twenty years as a fashion and commercial photographer. Behind the camera, she could observe, interpret and connect with people while remaining outside the frame herself. Photography allowed her to be deeply involved while maintaining a certain distance, a position she found both natural and comfortable.

Returning to painting after moving to the Hudson Valley in 2019 offered a different kind of freedom. Without a predetermined image or expectation of an outcome, Helena could follow an idea, abandon it or allow it to become something entirely unexpected.

Her paintings develop through layers of paint that are applied, removed, softened and reworked. Earlier decisions often remain just beneath the surface, leaving traces of what was once there. Working with a limited palette, she allows subtle shifts in color, texture and light to carry much of the painting's emotional weight. Within these quieter compositions, an unexpected mark or sharper gesture can change everything.

There is a constant push and pull in the way Helena works. She values restraint but is not always comfortable with it. Some paintings develop through careful consideration, while others require her to relinquish control and allow something less predictable to happen. Much of the work lies in negotiating between those instincts.

These tensions run through her different bodies of work. In her recent BLUE HOUR series, the uncertain light between day and night becomes a way of exploring visibility, vulnerability and the uneasy balance between wanting to be seen and wanting to remain hidden.

Helena is less interested in resolving these contradictions than in allowing them to coexist. Her paintings rarely reveal everything at once. They invite a slower kind of looking, leaving room for discovery and the possibility that something quiet, almost overlooked, can leave a lasting impression.