B2 Atelier is pleased to present Selective Silence, a solo exhibition by Hendrikka Waage.

Waage’s paintings navigate the tension between presence and overload in an era defined by constant information. Centered on stylized frontal figures, her compositions balance clarity and symbolism through bold colour, flattened space, and recurring motifs — most notably the singular ear. This emblem operates as both literal and metaphorical device, suggesting discernment, inward listening, and the necessity of filtering in a distracted world.

Shaped by her Icelandic origins and international experience across Japan, the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom, Waage’s visual language reflects both cultural layering and psychological introspection. The figure oscillates between realism and abstraction, dissolving into surface and re-emerging as icon.

Within Selective Silence, attention itself becomes subject. The works propose listening as an act of resilience — a quiet assertion of presence amid contemporary noise.

Hendrikka Waage

Hendrikka Waage is a contemporary artist whose practice navigates the delicate tension between presence and overload, perception and noise, resilience and vulnerability in an age saturated with information. Born and raised in Reykjavík, Iceland, her sensibility is shaped by both the stark clarity of Nordic landscapes and the rich cultural layers she encountered while living in Japan, the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom. This international experience informs a visual language that is at once introspective and globally attuned.

Her paintings are distinguished by bold, luminous color palettes, richly layered textures, and recurring symbolic motifs — most notably the single ear. This emblem of selective listening and inward reflection becomes a poetic device through which she explores attention, silence, and the act of truly hearing in a distracted world.

Centered primarily on the human form, Hendrikka’s work moves fluidly between realism and abstraction, dissolving and reconstructing the figure to convey psychological depth and emotional nuance. Working with acrylics, oils, and oil pastels on canvas, she builds surfaces that feel both immediate and contemplative, inviting viewers into a space of pause and self-examination.

Her paintings have been exhibited across Europe and the United States, earning recognition for their emotional intensity and striking visual presence. Hendrikka Waage currently lives and works in London, where she continues to expand a practice that is both visually compelling and philosophically resonant.