Miķelis Fišers. The Dreadful Legacy
From 5 December 2026 to 18 April 2027, the Great Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art will host the artist and scenographer Miķelis Fišers’ largest solo exhibition to date, “The Dreadful Legacy”. The exhibition will offer a retrospective look at the artist’s works created in various stages of his career as once expressed predictions of the future, and will also present Fišers’ new works.
Since the 1990s, Miķelis Fišers has focused on visually analyzing parallel worlds and historical evidence, as well as on sharp myth-making that resonates with social, political, and civilization processes. “The Dreadful Legacy” will be conceptually revealed as a triptych – a journey through three states of reality: the darkest fields of the subconscious, sudden enlightenment, and the reality that shapes everyday life.
The exhibition highlights civilization as a system – a historical, social and ideological structure that determines the foundations of society's understanding, equality and existence. Here, the social environment is revealed as a dynamic and contradictory structure in which history, myths, ideologies and everyday reality intertwine. Miķelis Fišers' art offers a critical and precise view of these processes, encouraging society's reflection on current global challenges and human responsibility in today's world.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive public programme with an emphasis on accessibility, education, and dialogue. The aim of the public programme is to promote a deeper understanding of the content of the exhibition, to expand the possibilities of interpreting art, and to establish the exhibition as a space for thinking and discussion rather than just a visual experience.
Miķelis Fišers (1970) is a Latvian artist and scenographer. He is one of the most prominent authors of his generation, having held more than twenty solo exhibitions in Latvia, the UK, and elsewhere in Europe. In 2015, he received the Purvītis Prize for his solo exhibition “Disgrace”, and in 2017 he represented Latvia at the 57th Venice Biennale with the exhibition “What Can Go Wrong”. The artist has also created stage solutions in several Latvian theatres demonstrating an interest in space as a multi-layered and conceptually rich medium.
The focus of Fišers' creative interests is the fragility of reality and the limits of its perception. Apocalyptic allusions in his art serve as a tool to reflect on the critical states of modern civilization, abstracting at an intergalactic and transdimensional scale. The artist himself describes his research as "postmodern neo-apocalyptology". His works intertwine visions and nightmares creating a labile, borderline psychic experience in the viewer.
Supported by: VKKF, Education, Culture, and Sports Department of Riga City Council