Our Artists

Albes Fusha
( Albanian, born in 1968) Fusha, studied painting in Academy of Fine Arts, (1991-1995). Very active as a painter and a photographer since mid of the ’90, actually, Fusha is a lector of the Art Photography on the University of Fine Arts, and one of the most important figure of the contemporary photography in the country. His works covers a wide range of themes, from human figure and condition to landscape, social landscape and abstract. Mostly known for his conceptual photography rather than his formal ones, he is regarded as one of the few photographers who present his product as a pure artistic creation in the multidimensional forms of the contemporary art scene.

Selected Exhibitions

2010 – “Galeria Miejska”, Bydgoszczy, Polony.
2010 – “Art point gallery”, Month of the Photography, Wien, Austry
1999 – “Kunst in der Natur” Wachberg, Austry,
1999 – “Roma 1999 Sarajevo 2001”, Bienal of Young Artist, in Europe and Mediterrain Sea, Rome, Italy
1999, – Personal exhibition, Webster University, Wien, Austria
1995 – 96 – 97 – “ONUFRI”, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania
1996 – High Point University Gallery. N.C. USA
1992 – Personal exhibition, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania

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Andi Nallbani
(Albanian, born in 1972) Studied painting at the Academy of fine arts in Tirana (1996 – 2000). For several years he studied art history and painting at the Academy of fine art in Florence, Italy. He paints a variety of subjects: snapshots of friends and family members. Often existing images from the internet or mass media are his starting point.His paintings are connected by a special position of the artist facing his existential questions and the social environment where he lives. The childhood and the human figures are seen through meditation and irony, creating images in some cases gathered in groups of squares in ” diary”shape “, and in other cases isolated to emphasize their sense of “icon”. A strong sense of history and personal memory emerges from his paintings which over and blend in his works. Today he lives and works in Tirana where he teaches Monumental techniques at the University of fine arts in Tirana.

Selected Exhibitions

2000. – ” We are not blond” , Art point black gallery, Florence, Italy.
2003 – ” Albania & Terra di Brindisi” Castello Normano , Italy.
2003 – ” Stemperando su carta ” Torino , Italy.
2005 – “Onufri”, National gallery of  Art ,Tiran, Albania
2015 – “Apnea” Zeta gallery , Tirana, Albania.

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Arben Bajo
(Albanian, born in 1967) studied sculpture in the Academy of Fine Arts, in Tirana, (1988-1992). After this period was selected as one of the most promising student and opened his first solo exhibition, on the National Historical Museum. Since 1993, he lived and created in Athens, Greece. Actually Bajo lives in Tirana, and is one of the most important artist of his generation, and lector of Sculpture class in the University of Fine Arts. The core of his late work however remains the human figure, especially his many portraits, in almost every case realized life-size, which are offered as a direct investigation into the sitter’s psychology and the surrounding reality. His sculpture takes a new direction borrowing sometimes from contemporary formal art and at other times from classical Hellenistic art. The sculptural forms of Arben Bajo draw the observer for a period of time into a psychological dialogue between form and subject.

Selected Exhibitions

1993, Personal Exhibition, National Historical Museum, Tirana
2005, ” September”, Athens, Greece
2006, ” Mythes and faces “, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania
2007, “Lost time”, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania
2008, “Passion”, Unicon Gallery, Athens
2011, “Portrets”, Fap Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2015, “Sculpture”, Fap Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana.

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Arben Golemi
(Albanian,born in 1954) study architecture in Tirana University, in 1973-78. Since then, his carrier is devided from painting to architecture. He opened more than 20 personal exhibition in and out side the country. With his creativity Golemi has been an influence to the artistic circles of his native city, thus embodying the image of the modern painter, in search of new figurations and artistic expressions. His paintings changed the existing artistic mentality of the predominant realistic art, as Golemi became one of the main protagonists of what can be called “the modern Albanian painting of the late twentieth century”. After the 1990s, his work was introduced in many international events, personal and collective exhibitions. Arben Golemi is one of the important painters of the Albanian modern art.

Selected Exhibitions

1991- 1992 – 2003 Personal Exhibitions, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania
2000 – United Nations Headquartes, New York, USA
2003 – “Railings” Paintings Exhibition in Human Rights Organization Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
2005 – Art Exhibition in New York at New Century Artists, INC
Curated by Ana Matthiesen
2014 – “XXI” FAB Gallery, Arts University Tirana.
2017 – “Aleteration – personal exhibition”, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania

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Ardian Kapo
(Albanian, born in 1968) he studied painting and textile fashion in the Accademy of Fine Arts (1988-1992) in Tirana, Albania. Very active in the beginning of the ’90 in the overthrown of the communist regime, he participated in many exhibition in and outside of the country. His firs work were painting, installation and illustration, works that presented him as one the most promising young artist of the ’90.
Actually he is a lector of fashion design and textile in the University of Arts, in Tirana, a visual artist often changing language from painting to illustration, and conceptual art.

Selected Exhibitions

2015 – “The power of Red”, KALO gallery, Tirana, Albania
2012 – “The D-Case”, group exhibition, Harmony Gallery, Tirana, Albania
2011 – “Roads”, group exhibition, FAB Gallery, Universty of Arts, Tirana, Albania
2010 – “Garden of Dreams” group exhibition, Galeria Miejska, Bydgoszczy, Poland
2003 – “Albanian Contemporary art scene”, group exhibition, Padova, Italy Curated by Giorgio Seggato.
1998 – “Onufri – International Competition Prize, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania
1996 – Illustration Bienal, Catalunia, Spain

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Artan Buca
(Albanian,born on 1975) studied Graphic and Painting in the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana (1997 -2001). Present in many art exhibition in the country, Buca actually is a lector of painting and drawing in the University of Arts, in Tirana. Since 2008 he is also a full time designer for many magazines in the city.
In his painting, abstract landscapes has a metaphysical taste, which often is orientated from an original viewpoint called archi –nature. In his images architecture flows in nature without loosing his identity, and sometimes totems of subcultures emerge. His painting find them self in an efimerich expression, who are abandoned in their destiny, from abstract to realistic forms.

Selected Exhibitions

1999: “Estern ‘99”, Fap Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2001: “The last works -Personal Exhibition”, Fab Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2002: “Painting – a new expresion”, National Historical Museum, Tirana
2012: “Roads 2”, Fab Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2013: “Roads 3”, Fab Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2015: “Timeless”, Fab Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2016: “November 18”, Fab Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2016: “Kahe # 1”, Fab Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2018: “November 20”, National Historical Museum, Tirana

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Edmond Papathimiu
(Born on 1973) he was graduated in the Academy of Fine Arts in 1995 in Sculpture. During the years he is the winner of many prizes like the one of the C.I.C.A.L Assosasion Brindisi, Italy, (1993), “Expo ‘95” (1995), Natrional gallery of arts, (1995), Onufri (1997), “The city in a canvas”, (2003). Often member of many exhibition in and outside the country, and several competition in Italy, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, etc. Besides sculpture, Papathimiu is better known for his ink drawings, and for his symbolic language. In his works, human figures lives in a parallel world, signed by architectural forms, abstract or realistic, offering a unconsius dimension of human existence.

Selected Exhibitions

1997 – “Onufri – National Competition”, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania
1998 – “Personal exhibition” National Historical Museum, Tirana
2003 – “Personal exhibition” National Historical Museum, Tirana
2004 – Group Exhibition, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania
2006 – Group Exhibition, Albania ArtKafe “QuoVadis”, Tirane

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Gazmend Leka
(Albanian, born in 1953) was graduated in Academy of Fine Arts, in Tirana, in Painting and Graphic in 1978. In the ’80, Leka worked as interior designer for several important museum like Gj. K. Skënderbeu, in Kruja, and the E. Hoxha Museum in Tirana. He also was the head of the department of animated movies from 1982 until 1991, and author of several movies, wining international prices. Since 1988 he is one of the most known professors in the University of Arts, teaching painting and theory of colors. From the same period he is one the most active artist in the country, counting more then 180 exhibition in and outside the country, wining several prices, for his career and art.
During this period the chosen medium of Leka is painting, but he is also author of thousands of drawings, graphics, and work on wood, installation and performance. But his main product is painting in canvas, were his symbolic language express his self in a wide specter. Build in a strong metaphysical landscape, Leka’s figure usually rise as a manifest of a symbolic world, timeless, were contemporarity is searching for his roots, and understanding. Faithful to his background, a semantic multilayer symbolic language, Leka is one of the most know artist in the country, in an abroad.

Selected Exhibitions

1987 – “Illustration”, group exhibition, Centre Pompidu, Paris, France
1992 – Personal Exhibitions, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania
1993 – “Albanian Contemporary artists”, “James Gat” Gallery, New York, USA
1993 – “New Albanian Contemporary artists”, “Corner Club” Gallery, New York, USA
1999 – “Nostradamus” Personal Exhibition National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania 2014 – “Ikarus”. Personal Exhibition, Zeta Gallery, Tirana, Albania
2014 – “Simbolon” Personal Exhibition National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania
2015 – Personal Exhibition, Galerie Municipal, Paris 5, France

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Hasan Nallbani
(Albanian born in 1934)has his degree in Painting in the Academy of fine arts in Tirana, 1960 – 1964. He begins working at the Institute of Cultural Monuments as a Director of the Art department. In the same period participates in many exhibitions organized by the state as he is very active with writings on medieval art. In 1987 Nallbani is appointed head of the Department of painting and sculpture in the Academy of Arts in Tirana. After 1990 he proposes new themes as well as the aesthetic treatments of figures, for an increasingly expressive gesture of social topics devoted to the transition of Albanian society. Nallbani would be proposed as a few of his most dynamic generation even after 2000s, addressing topics such as exodus or strong social contrasts that arose with time transofrmations. In 2017 he was awarded by the President of Albania the price ” Grand Master”.

Selected Exhibitions

1984 – Group exhibition , Bienal of Alexandria, egypt
1986 – 1988 -Group exhibition, Bienal of Ankara, Turkey
1992 – Group exhibition, Adge, france
1994 – Personal exhibition, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania.
1998 – Group exhibition, “Magazin” and “Mediterra – nea” Bari, Italy
2005 – Personal exhibition, National Gallery of Arts, Prishtina, Kosovo.
2009 – Personal exhibition, National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania.
2014 – Personal exhibition, national gallery of Arts Skopje, republic of Macedonia.
2016 – Personal exhibition at Polis University Tirana

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Orlis Vathi
( Albanian,born on 1980) was graduated in Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, in 2002. Since 2003 he works as a lector at he University of Arts, and a illustrator for several daily magazines. Present in many art exhibition in the country, Vathi is one of the promising artist of his generation. In his works the social contest of the individual is present in more than a form. As a testimony he reveals the changing of the subterranian changes of the urban landscape, as much as the human presence in the same space, with a conceptual visual language. His work often are inspired from the paradox of the urban reality, offered sometimes as shapes and forms and sometimes as personage.

Selected Exhibitions

2001- “Tomorrow in my society”, group exhibition, AA Gallery, Tirana.
2012: “Roads 2”, Fab Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2013: “Roads 3”, Fab Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2015: “Timeless”, Fab Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2016: “November 18”, Fab Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2016: “Kahe # 1”, Fab Gallery, University of Arts, Tirana
2018: “November 20”, National Historical Museum, Tirana
2018: “Silent Noises”, Personal Exhibition, Didart Gallery, Tirana

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Mikel Temo
(Born on 1964) he studied Painting in the Academy of Arts, in 1982-1986. Firstly a lector in the Art liceum of Tirana, from the beginning of the ’90 Temo is one of the most active artist, organizing the first independent Art Association, and many exhibitions. After that he follows different art experiences in Italy, Paris, and from 2000 he moves in Vancouver, Canada were is a full time artist, exhibiting in many art shows. Recently Temo lives in Tirana, as an free artist and lector in chief of Painting in the University of Arts, Tirana. During his carrier, Temo experimented in different mediums as painting, photography, sculpture, fashion design, and many others. In his works The mixed media exhibits attention to close valued color and captures elements of compressed time, textural nuance and emotive verve. The pigment and paper appears in layers as though the color and texture is woven into a dense surface plane of abstract figuration. The thematic milieu is skillfully and slowly revealed throughout the presentation.

Selected Exhibitions

2011 Robert Kananaj Gallery, Toronto, Canada.
2009 Agnes Bugera Gallery, Edmonton, Canada.
2008 Wallace Galleries, Vancouver, Canada.
2004 Simon Patrich Gallery, Vancouver, Canada.
2002 Ballardlederer Gallery, Vancouver, Canada.
2001 French Alliance Gallery, Vancouver, Canada.
1992 Amimoni Gallery, Yoannina, Greece.
1991 National Art Gallery, Tirana, Albania.

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Shpëtim Kërçova
(Albanian, born in 1968) he studied panting and textile in the Academy of fine Arts in Tirana, graduating in 1991. Very active in many exhibition in and outside the country, Kërçova at his beginnings experimented in different medium such as installation, and mix media, but soon he found him self in oil painting, usually proposed in series. From the 2000 he is one of the important contemporary artist in the country, and a lector of Theory of the field, in the University of Arts in Tirana. His works usually analyse the human condition in the urban space, their relationship with nature and globalization topics. At his last personal exhibition his curator A. Kurrizo stated that “The collection of Shpëtim Kërçova’s paintings is an acute -angled journey through space, but so much expanded in time that the shades of objects and subjects steer us to different seasons.”

Selected Exhibitions

2015 – A landscape without horizon” personal Exhibition, Zeta Gallery, Tirana
2014 – Zeta Art Center & Gallery at SUPERMARKET 2014 – Stockholm Independent Art Fair
2010 – Personal Exhibition, Zeta Gallery, Tirana
2009 – “Cosi vicina cosi lontana”, group exhibition, Villa croce Genova. Italy.
2008 – “My space”, Hause am Lutzowplatz, Berlin, Germany
2007 – “Virtualbania”, Pavel Haus, Austria
2005 – “New paintigs in Ballkan”, Sofia, Bullgari
2002 – ‘03 – ‘11 “Onufri” International Competition, National Gallery of Fine Arts, Tirana

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Viktor Ferraj
(Albanian born in 1965) he graduates on sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts, in Tirana in 1989. Present at the exhibition of that time, Ferraj will leave the country to years later, and moved in Genova, Italy. His art carrier and art form would take shape by melancholy notes and Mysticism. This is more obvious at the relationship with the human figure, and more specifically with the portrait, which usually are the central point of his composition. Originally his forms, defined as “talking sculptures”, are pervaded by a metaphysical veil of a nostalgic world, formally constructed by a primitive expressionism.
Since 2014 he is a lector of sculpture in the University of Fine Arts in Tirana, and a very fervish artist and author of many personal exhibition in and outside the country.

Selected Exhibitions

1993 – “Echi del mito perduto”, personal exhibition, Galleria d’Arte Cona, Savona, Italy
1999 – “Disegni e tecniche miste”, personal exhibition, Galleria Paracelso, Bologna, Italy
2000 – “Archeologia delle Icone”, personal exhibition, Circolo degli Artisti, Albissola Marina
2009 – “Heads”, Sistani design Gallery, group exhibition, London, Great Britany
2011 – Eliska Design, group exhibition, London, Great Britany
2012 – “Viktor Ferraj”, personal exhibition, Il Mulino Galleria d’Arte, Savona, Italy