Ivars Heinrihsons

Ivars Heinrihsons is one of the most prominent neo-Expressionists in the contemporary painting scene. He debuted in Latvian art in the 1970s. For several decades, the primary focus of his imagery has been the horse. For Heinrihsons, this is not so much the study of a concrete form; rather, he discovers in horses things we all share. Depicting the breaking in of horses or mad galloping does not reflect reality and usually results in a loss of conventional meaning, turning into signs or pure expressions in hieroglyphs. Ivars Heinrihsons expresses himself best in the language of achromatic colour, playing out grey in all of its nuances and white abstraction and nervousness in its flow.

 In the painting “The Falling” the back silhouettes of horses are twisted in a tragic noose, expressing worry, weakness and uncontrollable energy which turns to destruction. The finely conceived, laconic composition is executed with artistic lightness and a certain aestheticism, while the expressive gesture of the brush turns into a calligraphic masterpiece. As if walking on a knife edge, Heinrihsons creates an abstract composition which retains its depictive tension and always maintains a balance between horror and hope, strength and calm.   

The Falling. 2017.