fani zguro
Kunstart: Zeichnung
Technik: Tusche
Stil: Gegenständlich
Statement:
ON FANI ZGURO’S SERIES OF DRAWINGS AND COLLAGES
Fani Zguro is one of the young aspiring artists from Albania. Part of a generation that experienced the former regime mainly through testimonies, such as literature or history or philosophy books that one could find in ones parents’ library at home, or various utensils or furniture one grew up with, Zguro is developing what seems to be an ongoing research to find means and ways to come to terms not only with his quest for finding a historical belonging but also a relation to past and present, Albanian society and international art scene and the unresolved contradiction of our time between the local and the global. This quest and research has prompted the artist to try various means of expression, varying from video to installation and most recently drawing and collage. After trying and producing a number of video works revolving around the city and its many layers and histories, Zguro takes a new turn and starts to investigate his persona through a series of drawings and collages. First he revisits the drawings he made as a child. But this is to serve only as an initial step after which, he decides to focus on a mixture between drawing and collage. For this Zguro chooses to operate directly on pages of books that according to him ”shaped his world and incited his fantasy” during his childhood. In the working process he tries to re-live what he experienced as a child. This is done by using the actual pages of the books and by directly drawing onto them, somewhere intervening in the text, but quite often intervening on the images too, since images were what really attracted his attention at an early age when he’d not be able to understand the content. On the other hand, through such interventions the artist tries to raise a number of issues that are part of the larger discourse about history and belonging. Thus Zguro decides in favor of at times using total blacking out of text parts, or at other times of making use of more abstract geometric forms and lines, as if trying to push further the abstraction he experienced as a child, but also to highlight the abstract qualities of language by eliminating its most essential part – the letters. However, images too are not left out or untouched. The same type of intervention is carried out with persistence also on them. Through this latest intervention on images, Zguro tries to reflect on how saturated our world is with images and how history making remains a manipulative process, that in a process similar to that of a children’s fascination with images, in our modern days is almost entirely performed through editing of moving and still images. Making use of collage as a simple means at its purest and simplest form, and combining it with drawing, Zguro tries to recreate a world of images, signs, and text which is supposed to lead the viewer into the labyrinth of hidden or non-existing meanings, inter-formal plays, abruptness and flow - an interplay of new signs and symbols that serve him to propose his intertext.
EDI MUKA
Vita / Lebenslauf:
Fani Zguro born in 1977 Tirana. Lives and works in Berlin
EDUCATION
2008-2010: Laurea Specialistica, Accademia delle Belle Arti di Brera, Milan (Italy)
1998-2002: Accademia delle Belle Arti di Brera, Milan (Italy)
1996-1997: Polytechnic of Athens (Greece - outsider)
ART RESIDENCES
2009-2009: Kultur Kontakt, Vienna (Austria)
2009-2009: La Générale en Manufacture, Sèvres Paris (France)
2009-2009: Taller Siete, Medellin (Colombia)
2003-2004: Citè International des Arts, Paris (France)
WORK EXPERIENCE
2004-2005: Independent Curator, The National Gallery of Arts Tirana (Albania)
2007- : Project Director, Tirana Art Center (Albania)
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010: \\\\\\\"Fani Zguro\\\\\\\", The Promenade Gallery, Vlora (Albania)
2009: “Passengers”, Atelier Pier, La Gènèrale en Manufacture, Sèvres Paris (France), “Girls, Victims, Spy, Police, Gestapo, Soldiers, Men”, Valenzuela & Klenner Gallery, Bogotà (Colombia)
2002: “Tyson vs Lewis”, curator Luca Legnani, Università di Bocconi, Milan (Italy)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2011: \\\\\\\'\\\\\\\'Double Bind\\\\\\\'\\\\\\\' curator Valerio Dehò, KunstMeran, Merano (Italy – upcoming)
2010: “Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid”, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (Germany) Musée National Reina Sofia, Filmoteca Española, Madrid (Spain), \\\\\\\"Who Is Afraid of Red Yellow and Green\\\\\\\", A.Paci, A.Sala, F.Zguro, The Promenade Gallery, Vlora (Albania), \\\\\\\"The Pursuit of Happiness\\\\\\\", curators Zbigniew Kotkiewicz, Tekla Woźniak, Arsenał Gallery, Poznań (Poland), “Bird Kite Making & Flying Workshop”, curator Angela Lennon, Peacock Visual Arts, Centre For Contemporary Art, Aberdeen (Scotland), “Double Bind”, curator Valerio Dehò, Casa Masaccio - Centro Per l’Arte Contemporanea, San Giovanni Valdarno (Italy), “Ardhje Award”, Tirana Institute for Contemporary Art, Zeta Gallery, (Albania), “Police the Police\\\\\\\", curator Mica Gherghescu, 4th Edition of the Young Artists Biennial, Bucharest (Romania)
2009: “Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid”, Centre Pompidou, Jeu de Paume, Châtelet Theatre, Reflet Médicis Movie Theatre, Paris (France), “Kultur Kontakt”, Galerie ArtPoint, Vienna (Austria), “La Biennale del Mediterraneo 1”, art director Corrado Calò, Taviano (Italy), “Liquid Cities - Video Art & Architecture”, National Center for Contemporary Arts, Moscow (Russia), “Playlist”, curator Odile Orsi, Neon>Campobase, Bologna (Italy), “Arena”, Valenzuela & Klenner Gallery, Bogotà (Colombia)
2008: “Street by Street”, with Carlos Garacoia, Isola Art Center, Milan (Italy), “Girls, Victims, Spy, Police, Gestapo, Soldiers, Men”, with Museo Aero Solar, Minneapolis (USA), “Milli”, The 2nd International Photo Prize, The National Gallery of Arts Prishtina (Kosovo), “Video Art & Architecture”, Micro Museum, New York (USA), “The Last Book”, curator Luis Camnitzer, The National Library, Buenos Aires (Argentina)
2007: “Isola Art Center/OUT/Bert Theis”, curator Hou Honru, The 10th International Istanbul Biennial (Turkey), “Conformism Space”, curator Suzana Varvarica, The 4th International Mulliqi Prize, The National Gallery of Arts, Prishtina (Kosovo), “Ardhje Award”, curator Edi Muka, Joa Lundberg, Tirana Institute for Contemporary Art, Academy of Fine Arts of Tirana (Albania), “Absolute Beginners”, Isola Art Center, Milan (Italy)
2005: “Experiment in Terror”, curator Leni Laperi, The 12th International Onufri Prize, The National Gallery of Arts Tirana (Albania)
2004: “Glocal”, curator Gezim Qendro, The 4th International Mulliqi Prize, The National Gallery of Arts, Prishtina (Kosovo)
2003: “2nd Tirana Biennal”, curators Edi Muka, Gezim Qendro (Albania)
2002: “Networking”, curator Pier Luigi Tazzi, Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena (Italy)
2001: “Salon 1”, proposed by Antonio D’Avossa, Spazio Permanente, Milan (Italy)
SELECTED OTHER PROJECTS
2010: \\\\\\\"The Last Book\\\\\\\", curator Luis Camnitzer, Zentral Bibliothek, Zurich (Switzerland), \\\\\\\"No Formula One No Cry\\\\\\\", Anri Sala, art director Fani Zguro, Tirana Art Center (Albania), \\\\\\\"Mr. Dosti\\\\\\\" (Zoti Dosti), Fani Zguro, Zenit Edition, Tirana (Albania)
2009: “So Many Men”, Museo de Arte Moderna, Medellin (Colombia), ”Il Tempo del Postino”, workshop with Anri Sala, Academy of Fine Arts, Tirana (Albania), “Creative Identity”, by Riccardo Caldura e Domenico Papa, Biblioteca Civica Italo Calvino, Turin (Italy), “FIAV”, The International Festival of Video Art, Casablanca (Marocco)
2008: “Museo Aero Solar”, Tomas Saraceno, curator Alberto Pesavento, art director Fani Zguro, Tirana Art Center (Albania), “Suprematist Platform”, Bert Theis, art director Fani Zguro, in collaboration with Onufri Prize and The National Gallery of Arts, Tirana Art Center (Albania)
2007: “Intervista - Find the Words”, interview with Anri Sala, Teknemedia (Italy), “Nantucket!”, curator Matteo Rubbi, 2video Undo.net (Italy), “Museo Aero Solar”, Tomas Saraceno, curator Alberto Pesavento, art director Fani Zguro, Tirana Art Center/“Betrayal in Art”, curators Ervin Hatibi, Rubens Shima, The 14th International Onufri Prize, The National Gallery of Arts, Tirana (Albania)
2005: “TiranaPrishtina Project”, Real Presence, Beograd (Serbia), Zenit Gallery, Museum of History of Tirana, The National Gallery of Arts Tirana (Albania), “Dammi i Colori”, with Anri Sala, Exit Festival, Novisad (Serbia)
2002: “Thank U Director”, Aula 1, docente Alberto Garutti, Accademia delle Belle Arti di Brera, Milan (Italy)
SELECTED ART FAIRS
2009: “The Promenade Gallery”, ArtVerona (Italy), “Videos Program”, La Otra, Bogotà (Colombia)
2007: “Exterminators”, text by Alberto Pesavento, Galleria Unorossodue, MiArt, Milan (Italy)
AWARDS
2008: “First Prize”, The 14th International Onufri Prize, The National Gallery of Arts Tirana (Albania)
1990: “First Prize”, The 1th International Balaton Prize (Hungary)
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2010: \\\\\\\"Mr. Dosti\\\\\\\" (Zoti Dosti), Fani Zguro, Zenit Edition, Tirana, 120 pages
2009: “Tirana Art Center”, ARTCO, Contemporary Art Centre Taipei
2007: “Any Thing”, by Matteo Chini, Flash Art, “Nuovi, Nuovi, Nuovi”, curated by Milovan Farronato/”Any Thing”, Exibart on Paper
2006: “TiranaPrishtina Project”, Umelec Magazine
2005: “TiranaPrishtina Project”, Kult Magazine, “Young Albanian Artists”, by Fani Zguro, (Anri Sala and Sislej Xhafa), @Group, 145 pages, “TiranaPrishtina Project”, by Fani Zguro, @Group, 207 pages
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