14.12.2024. - 23.02.2025.
Latvian National Museum of Art

The Latvian Collection

In cooperation with the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art and the Malmö Art Museum in Sweden, from 14 December 2024 to 23 February 2025, an exhibition titled The Latvian Collection is presented in the 4th and 5th floor exhibition halls of the main building of the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga (Jaņa Rozentāla laukums 1) featuring works by Latvian artists from the early 20th century from the collection of the Malmö Art Museum, alongside new, complementary pieces by contemporary artists.

In 1939, the Malmö Art Museum (Malmö Konstmuseum) received as a gift the Latvian Art Collection – a unique snapshot of Latvian art between the two world wars. This collection includes landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and scenography sketches, capturing the transition from the modernist experiments of the 1920s to the Realism that defined European art in the 1930s. Thematically focusing on Latvian nature and glorifying ideas of national culture, the works reflect the cultural policy of Kārlis Ulmanis’s authoritarian regime. After acquisition, the Latvian Art Collection was displayed at the Malmö Art Museum until 1958, but was then removed from permanent exhibition and remained unseen for decades.



To further explore and contextualize the entire ensemble of 47 works, in collaboration with the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art (LLCA), the collection was re-exhibited in its entirety at the Malmö Art Museum in 2022. Now, 85 years after the collection was first assembled, part of these artworks returns to Latvia for more than two months.

The Riga exhibition is complemented by the vision of today’s authors through eight new contemporary artworks, which highlight overlooked narratives in the Latvian Art Collection and comment on broader issues related to nationalism and the birth of a nation state. These works have been included in Malmö Art Museum’s collection, becoming a contemporary interpretation and extension of the selection of Latvian art.

“The Latvian Art Collection in Malmö not only highlights the activities of the artists of that time and the political situation in Latvia, but also invites us to think about where, how, and whether works of Latvian art are available in foreign museum collections, and their stories – to international viewers,” emphasizes Inga Lāce, one of the three curators of the exhibition.

By researching and adding works to the Latvian Art Collection, the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art, the Malmö Art Museum, and the Latvian National Museum of Art are building new bridges of communication thus stimulating a wider discussion about freedom of speech and its fragility, as well as the role of art in politics and the social ecosystem, the creation of museum collections, participation of artists in formulating national narratives, cultural diplomacy, and national politics.

The exhibition is accompanied by a diverse public programme including a meeting with the project curators, a discussion on the fate of Latvian artworks during World War II, an international symposium on the role and responsibilities of museums in 21st-century society, and a creative workshop for children and parents led by artist Ieva Kraule-Kūna. A performance-talk show Carnival by the artist Makda Embaie (Norway) inspired by Jānis Tīdemanis dynamic painting Carnival will take place in February, as well as a closing concert in cooperation with composer Henrijs Poikāns.


Museum opening hours

Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 10.00–18.00
Wednesday: 10.00–18.00
Thursday: 10.00–18.00
Friday: 10.00–20.00
Saturday: 10.00–17.00
Sunday: 10.00–17.00

More information about the museum's opening hours here

Entrance ticket

1 ticket for an individual visit 
7,00 EUR      For adults 
3,50 EUR      For pupils, students, seniors and other discount groups* 

* More information about the price list

Venue

Latvian National Museum of Art /
4th Floor Exhibition Halls
Cupola Hall (5th floor)
Jaņa Rozentāla laukums 1, Riga

Exhibitors

Artists from Latvia, Sweden, Norway, Ukraine, Estonia, Denmark, and Lithuania: Ieva Epnere, Ieva Kraule-Kūna, Santiago Mostyn, Susanna Jablonski, Makda Embaie, Lada Nakonechna, Jaanus Samma, Asbjørn Skou, Anastasia Sosunova

Artists featured in the Latvian Art Collection at the Malmö Art Museum

Jānis Aižens, Augusts Annuss, Arturs Apinis, Jēkabs Apinis, Kārlis Baltgailis, Erna Bērziņa, Jānis Cielavs, Jānis Cīrulis, Elza Druja, Eduards Dzenis, Otomija Freiberga, Jāzeps Grosvalds, Arvīds Gusārs, Marija Induse-Muceniece, Eduards Kalniņš, Voldemārs Krastiņš, Kārlis Krauze, Jānis Kuga, Ludolfs Liberts, Milda Liepiņa, Jānis Liepiņš, Jūlijs Madernieks, Oskars Norītis, Jānis Plēpis, Vilhelms Purvītis, Janis Rozentāls, Pēteris Rožlapa, Arijs Skride, Oto Skulme, Uga Skulme, Niklāvs Strunke, Leo Svemps, Janis Šternbergs, Arvīds Štrauss, Erasts Šveics, Zelma Tālberga, Jānis Tīdemanis, Valdemārs Tone, Konrāds Ubāns, Johans Valters, Vilis Vasariņš, Ernests Veilands, Sigismunds Vidbergs, Teodors Zaļkalns, Rihards Zariņš, Kārlis Zāle

Organisers

Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art
Latvian National Museum of Art
Malmö Konstmuseum

Supporters

Exhibition curators

Inga Lāce
Lotte Løvholm
Solvita Krese

Project director

Mārīte Lempa /
Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art

Project producer

Dr. art. Ginta Gerharde-Upeniece
Head of the Latvian Visual Arts Department /
Latvian National Museum of Art

Exhibition architect

Līva Kreislere

Exhibition producers

Elīza Anna Reine /
Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art

Ieva Kalnača /
Latvian National Museum of Art

Exhibition installation

Form Art Lab, VPT Grupa

Head of communication

Dana Zālīte /
Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art

Exhibition communication

Luīze Mizga /
Latvian National Museum of Art

Graphic design

Rūta Jumīte

Public programme

Elīna Ķempele

Education programme

Alise Hofmane /
Latvian National Museum of Art

Related press releases

Duration 14.12.2024. - 23.02.2025.
Published 18.10.2024.