Helēna Heinrihsone (1948), one of the most established and notable Latvian female painter. At The Manchester Contemporary 2025 she presents a collection of more than ten miniature paintings from her series English Roses.

At the heart of Helena Heinrihsone’s paintings is the woman. The deeply personal becomes the viewer’s own private events and experiences. Her concise works, rich in symbolic colour, reveal no extraneous details - only HIM and HER: hot against hot, hot against cool, cool against cool. Areas of contrasting, saturated colour are Helena Heinrihsone’s trademark, developed over the years, alongside stories of endless relationships, from which emerge the narratives of his and her feelings.

The second central element is the rose. It has played a significant role throughout Helena Heinrihsone’s oeuvre. Some art critics have even called her “the Rose Painter” or simply Helena the Rose. Yet for her, the rose is not merely a symbol of beauty; it signifies the woman herself, beautiful at any age.

"For me red is the most comprehensive colour, the deepest in terms of content. Absolute magnificence. The strongest. When I start applying red paint, half of everything has already been said, and it is all clear to me" - Helēna Heinrihsone