Due to a shortage of goods and services, a black market tradition flourished in the Baltic States during the Soviet occupation, laying the foundations for complex criminal networks in later years. Racketeering, corruption, mafia wars, banditry, where even a minor conflict could end in the use of weapons and explosives - this was the reality of the 1990s. Arnolds Andersons was brought into this world by his father, who then ran a foreign exchange office in Riga's Central Market. From a child's perspective, it was a threatening and fascinating environment, full of expressive characters who practiced a strict dress code. From a contemporary perspective, we tend to poeticize this wild decade and its "rules of the game", giving a different character to the memories of the "crazy nineties". However, we should not forget that it is the past that plays an important role in our views today. In his solo exhibition “ADRENALIN”, Arnolds Andersons delves into his childhood memories in 1990s Riga. Coinciding with the collapse of the USSR and the restoration of Latvia’s independence, this period marks the beginning of a new order of things replacing the sleepy and depressing Soviet reality.

Arnolds Anderson’s latest series of paintings presents a compelling exploration of the glamorous yet complex world of the criminal underworld. His work thoughtfully engages with themes of bumers, puškas, naļiks, kožaki and nakolkas (A specific (prison) slang characteristic of the 1990s, meaning: BMW’s, firearm, cash, leather jackets, and tattoos), effectively capturing the essence of this intriguing period. These elements serve as representations of childhood “heroes” for the artist, intricately imprinted in the layers of his eidetic memory. Each artwork invites viewers to construct narratives around these subjects, blending nostalgic recollections with the stark realities of life during that time.
Although the artist lost contact with his father, growing up in the maelstrom of the underground has left an indirect mark on Anderson's pictorial signature - an almost rebellious striving for classical beauty, purity of color and form, an unconscious search for stability and order. “ADRENALIN”, the most significant solo exhibition of Arnold Anderson's work in Riga to date, interprets the post-socialist era and its aftermath through the prism of power and subjugation. Avoiding politicization, the artist reflects on this 'legendary' decade in the region through a sexualized gaze in which the beautiful, the ugly, the pleasurable, and the disgusting meet simultaneously.

In addition, scent artist Alīna Grinpauka, in collaboration with Arnolds Andersons, has crafted four unique scent compositions that narrate the experiences of growing up and coming of age in the post-socialist Baltic region and enhance the viewer’s experience, evoking the essence of 1990s culture and environment. These scent compositions are designed and installed to allow each visitor to feel, remember, or even fantasize about a time characterized by a markedly different system of thought and practice. Alīna Grinpauka’s compositions occupy a special yet significant niche within contemporary art - scent.

Text: Elīna Drāke

Arnolds Andersons was born in 1991 in Riga, Latvia. He lived and worked in London, England, where he graduated from Kingston University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He has exhibited in galleries nationally and internationally, including J. Petters Gallery in Michigan, USA, SunBlanket Gallery in Seoul, South Korea, and Menier Gallery in London, UK. His work has recently been exhibited at Christie's, London. In 2019 he won the Special Prize of the Baltic Young Painter Award. Anderson's work is in the collection of the Lewben Art Foundation and other international private art collections.

Alīna Grinpauka graduated from the Functional Design programme at the Art Academy of Latvia in 2014 and honed her watercolour painting skills in New York (USA). From 2015 to 2022 she worked as a fashion illustrator, collaborating with such world-famous fashion brands as Valentino, Tiffany & Co., Dior, Alberta Ferretti, and Max Mara. Alina's work is featured in the book "The Illustrator. 100 Best from Around the World" by the prestigious German publisher Taschen. In 2020, together with like-minded people, she founded the natural cosmetics company Etīde Botanicals. Since 2023, she has been studying "The Technique and Language of Perfumery" and "Advanced Perfumery" at the Pratt Institute, New York (USA). 

Supported by: State Culture Capital Foundation