Leonards Laganovskis studied at the Art Academy of Riga from 1973 to 1979. He later managed a discotheque and worked as a set designer for the state theatre in Riga and as official mural painter for the state festival. He has been an active organizer of art exhibitions and has had solo and group exhibitions of his own work in Europe. He was an artist in residence at the Kunstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin where he has been represented by Wewerka & Weiss Galerie. The personal experiences of growing up under a soviet system in a Latvian culture fuels his conceptually oriented, often ironic work.
Made in Banff, 1992 average 20 x 18 cm (click images for larger view)
Made in Banff, 1992 average 20 x 18 cm		INTERPRETATION Made in Banff is a series of 12 paintings on the “screen” of small carved old-fashioned TV sets. Reminiscent of the 1950s, these are the type of TVs found in many Riga homes. The images on these televisions are fragmented, classic scenes of Banff. Installed in a circle they convey the cycle of Laganovskis’ personal life in Banff: views of his bedroom, his studio, the alleyways, the dining room. The End Comrades is a commemoration of the demise of the Russian regime. It is an ironic gesture, where a Russian slogan inscribed on the plaque, admitting the end, would never exist. The use of carnations refers to an important Latvian tradition to lay fresh flowers at monuments daily. Made from scraps found in the Gallery’s workshop, the sculpture’s construction used the Soviet methodology of making use of whatever is readily available. McLenin is an ironic comment on McDonalds. Considered high cuisine in the former Soviet Union, workers would have to save two or three week’s salary to dine there. In this official portrait, Lenin is smiling, (one of the few photographs where he cracks a smile) and is surrounded by a menu of typical Soviet era foods: hard boiled egg, hard boiled egg with mayonnaise, borsch, chicken with peas, wieners with buckwheat, buckwheat with butter, perogies with vinegar, perogies with sour cream, even salt and butter that are ordered separately. While McDonalds infers speedy service, in these republics a large percent of items on any menu has been unavailable due to extreme food shortages. This work is 100% Soviet, from the image of Lenin, to the menu items, all photographed in Riga on state-of-the-art Russian film and revealing the poor quality of mass media in 1991!
Made in Banff, 1992 average 20 x 18 cm
The End, Comrades, 1992 54 x 64 x 19.5 cm
McLenin, 1992 116 x 135 x 24 cm
Leonards Laganovskis’ work displays a sardonic wit in its hard-hitting critique of all political ideologies. Rote Lampe (Red Lamp) uses prostitution as a metaphor for the bureaucracy of the former Soviet system. The red and gold grid on the wall refers to a formal directory that would be found at the entrance to any Soviet government office. Rather than politicians, it introduces a hypothetical bureaucratization of prostitution, one of the latest imports from the west. In this brothel, there would surely be the Lenin Room, offices for the Director of Sanitation and the Director of Rubber Goods. Within three hundred official rooms, you might find only four or five prostitutes.
Dienstleistungskombinat "Rote Lampe" 1992 1.5 x 2.7 m
Rostrum #815 - 821 [ongoing series] ink on paper 280 x 215 cm

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