Exhibition Opening – Reset Factory Settings

When one’s accumulated experience, habits, and internal mechanisms begin to function like an automatic program, Reset Factory Settings offers the opportunity to pause and start with a clean slate. It is the space between what has been learned and what truly belongs to oneself—between reflex and choice. A state in which it is possible to question one’s compendium of “default settings”: perfectionism, fear, routine, indecision, the desire for balance, and at the same time, the inability to maintain it. The exhibition focuses on a person’s inner architecture: memories, imprints from childhood, loneliness, anxiety, and the illusion of control; it seeks the boundary between the superficial and the authentic, between social expectations of behavior and true presence. The artists reflect on identity, which is formed through systems, rituals, repetitions, and social and personal “codes” that simultaneously stabilize and constrain.   The works have taken shape as individual and collective attempts at “resetting”—not by erasing, but rather, by seeing. Repetition becomes an instrument, silence—a backdrop, and presence—an opportunity to rewrite oneself anew. Resetting is the pause between automatic action and conscious choice. Factory settings are the initial conditions from which we never fully free ourselves. Resetting is the illusion of starting anew, yet at the same time, it is the only way to approach it. It is the moment when you stop repeating and for the first time, make a choice.   The exhibition was created by nine young artists, graduates of the Department of Environmental Art at the Art Academy of Latvia: Evelīna Bindare, Janta Jasjukeviča, Hugo Pētersons, Raimonds Krastiņš, Polina Bule, Agate Kalniņa, Kaspars Gobiņš, Agnese Zvirgzda, and Inna Zaharova.   The exhibition features audiovisual media works created using a variety of techniques.   The exhibition is organized by the Riga City Municipality institution RIGA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE. The exhibition is supported by the Riga City Municipality, the Art Academy of Latvia, the Environmental Art Department of the Academy’s Audiovisual Media Arts Division, and the brewery Labietis.

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About Gallery

RIGA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE was founded in 2008 as an exhibition venue of the city of Riga dedicated to the presentation, research and interpretation of significant artistic processes in contemporary art.  The programme of RIGA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE is conceived as a dialogue between local and global narratives exploring the complexity of contemporary art and its intersections with technology, emotion, memory and myth. The institution fosters critical engagement, presenting art as both a reflection of the present and a framework for self-discovery.  RIGA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE aims to serve as a platform for exploring contemporary culture and for dialogue on the role of art in the 21st century, engaging local audiences, cultural tourists, and the professional community in Riga and the Baltic region. Its programmes are grounded in the belief that art can influence social processes and foster understanding and empathy.