Petrit Halilaj

Petrit Halilaj studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan. He represented Kosovo at the Venice Biennale in 2013 and exhibited that same year at the Fondation d’Entreprise Galeries Lafayette in Paris. His solo exhibitions include shows at Hangar Bicocca (Milan, 2015), Kölnischer Kunstverein (Cologne, 2015), Bundeskunsthalle (Bonn, 2015), Kunsthalle Lissabon (2015), WIELS (Brussels, 2014), Galeria e Arteve e Kosovës (Pristina, 2014), Kunsthalle Sankt Gallen (2012), and Kunstraum Innsbruck (2011). He has participated in numerous group exhibitions at institutions including Punta della Dogana (Venice), Villa Romana (Florence), Museion (Bolzano), the New Museum (New York), and the 6th Berlin Biennale (2010).

His work draws from the personal elaboration of a history marked by war and displacement. Through poetic, and at times ironic, installations, drawings, sculptures, and performances, Halilaj uses autobiographical materials to explore universal themes: identity, memory, trauma, and reconstruction.

His language is narrative yet visually delicate, and it resonates with urgency and humanity.