Gallery Late – Rūta Kalmuka's solo exhibition "DZEN", RPB 2026

The series of works is based on the ancient solstice traditions of "driving of the birds" and "calling of the birds", which were characteristic of places inhabited by Livonians. In these rituals, large birds symbolised diseases and evil spirits, while small birds were attributed the meanings of light and awakening. With the help of photography and butoh movement, the artist interprets this ritual as a metaphor for inner cleansing – the desire to cast off the darkness and make space for a new beginning.  

The title Dzen simultaneously reveals two meanings – the imperative form of the Latvian word dzen! ("drive off!") as a call to drive away negativity, and a reference to the practice of Zen Buddhism, where peace and clarity is sought through silence and repetition. Kalmuka's photographs were made in analogue with a large format camera.  

Rūta Kalmuka (1974) began studying photography in 1992 at the Centre of Creative Learning Annas 2 under Andrejs Grants. She has dedicated almost 20 years to photojournalism, working with printed media including Santa, Dienas žurnāli, NRA and Ir magazine. Currently she works with analogue photography and large format equipment, as well as being interested in historical photographic processes and the making of photobooks. She has taken part in several group exhibitions in Latvia and abroad. Her works have been included in publications such as Foto Kvartāls, Fotofilmic JRTL and World Press Photo. In 2025, she was nominated for the prestigious European Photography Platform Futures.  

Participant: Rūta Kalmuka (LV)
Curator: Iveta Gabaliņa (LV)
Exhibition design: Aleksejs Beļeckis (LV)  
Image: Rūta Kalmuka, from the series Dzen, 2023–2026

‍

About the Riga Photography Biennial‍

The Riga Photography Biennial is an international contemporary art event that focuses on the analysis and artistic representation of visual culture. In the title of the Biennial, photography is used as an umbrella term for a wide variety of artistic practices in image-making that continue to transform the language of contemporary art in the 21st century. The biennial’s themes range from cultural theory to current sociopolitical processes in the Baltic and European regions. The Riga Photography Biennial aims to capture and, in the format of an art festival, offer a shared understanding of the changes taking place in the world—changes that we need not only to see but also to imagine, translating today’s complex and saturated visual language into meaningful relationships—between everyday life, the camera lens, historical material, contemporary art, technology, and the future. How has the understanding of photography and the image changed due to digital technology, and how does it manifest itself within the context of a work of art? For the organizers of the Biennial, these are crucial issues to analyze and represent, offering Latvian audiences the most relevant examples of international art through exhibition displays, as well as introducing the ideas of prominent art theorists through symposia, discussions, and publications within the formats of exhibitions and performances. The first Riga Photography Biennial took place in 2016. The Riga Photography Biennial 2026 runs from April 16 to July 3 with an extensive exhibition and educational program, marking the RFB’s ten-year journey. For more information:
www.rpbiennial.com.