Petrit Halilaj

Petrit Halilaj (born 1986) is a Kosovar visual artist[3][4] living and working between Germany, Kosovo and Italy.[5] His work is based on documents, stories, and memories related to the history of Kosovo.[6][7]

Petrit Halilaj
Born	1986 (age 33–34)[1][2] Kostërc, District of Mitrovica, Kosovo[1]
Nationality	Kosovar
Known for	sculpture, installation art

Halilaj is a joint tutor with Alvaro Urbano at Beaux-Arts de Paris, in Paris, France.[8]

Early life

Born in SFR Yugoslavia, now Kosovo, Halilaj left the country with his family during the Yugoslav wars of 1991-2001.[9] Settled in Italy, Hililaj studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan.[10]

Career

During the 6th Berlin Biennale in 2010, Halilaj exhibited a sculptural reconstruction of a house built by his parents, to replace the family home that was levelled by bombing during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war.[11][12]

Halilaj represented the Republic of Kosovo at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013.[13][14]

Halilaj had several solo exhibitions, including one at the New Museum in New York in 2017-2018[7] and one at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles in 2018-2019.[14]

Halilaj created a large site-specific installation of giant sculptural flowers in 2020 for Madrid's Palacio de Cristal.[2][15]

In 2020 Halilaj dropped out of the 58th October Salon – Belgrade Biennale, claiming that the Cultural Center of Belgrade, which organises it, would not recognize his Kosovar nationality.[4][16]

Solo exhibitions

• 2018-2019 – Shkrepëtima, curated by Leonardo Bigazzi, at Fondazione Merz, Turin, Italy[9][17]
• 2018-2019 – Hammer Projects: Petrit Halilaj, organised by adjunct curator Ali Subotnick and curatorial associate MacKenzie Stevens, at Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA[9][14]
• 2017-2018 – Petrit Halilaj: RU, curated by assistant curator Helga Christoffersen, at New Museum, New York City, NY, USA[7][9][18]
• 2015-2016 – Petrit Halilaj: Space Shuttle in the Garden, curated by Roberta Tenconi, at HangarBicocca, Milan, Italy[11][19]
• 2013-2014 – Petrit Halilaj: Poisoned by men in need of some love, curated by Elena Filipovic, at WIELS, Brussels, Belgium[6]
• 2013 – Kosovar Pavilion, 55th Venice Biennale, curated by Kathrin Rhomberg, at the Arsenale, Venice, Italy[9][13]
• 2009 – Back to the Future, curated by Albert Heta, at Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina, Pristina, Kosovo[9]

Group exhibitions

• 2019 – Homeless Souls, curated by Marie Laurberg, at the Louisiana Museum, Humlebæk, Denmark[20]
• 2017 – 57th Venice Biennale: Viva Arte Viva, curated by Christine Macel, at the Central Pavilion, Venice, Italy[21]
• 2010 – 6th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art: what is waiting out there, curated by Kathrin Rhomberg, at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany[3][12]

Collections

• Centre Pompidou, Paris, France[22]
• Museo Ettore Fico, Turin, Italy[23]
• Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA[24]
• Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland[25]
• Tate Modern, London, UK[26]

Awards

He received the Mario Merz Prize[5] and a special mention of the jury at the 57th Venice Biennale, both in 2017.[14]

Books

• Roberta Tenconi, ed., Petrit Halilaj: Space Shuttle in the Garden, Milan: Mousse Publishing, 2016, 160 p., English / Italian, ISBN 978-88-6749-241-1[11][27]

References

1. "Petrit Halilaj – Exhibition at Tate St Ives". Tate. 1975.
2. "Petrit Halilaj | Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía". www.museoreinasofia.es.
3. Larios, Pablo. "In Focus: Petrit Halilaj". Frieze (155). ISSN 0962-0672. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
4. "Artist Petrit Halilaj Has Pulled Out of the Belgrade Biennial After Its Organizers Refused to Recognize His Nationality". artnet News. 28 July 2020.
5. "Mario Merz Prize". www.mariomerzprize.org. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
6. WIELS. "Petrit Halilaj: Poisoned by men in need of some love | Exhibitions | WIELS". www.wiels.org. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
7. "Petrit Halilaj: RU". www.newmuseum.org. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
8. "Petrit HALILAJ et Alvaro URBANO". www.beauxartsparis.fr (in French). Retrieved 2020-07-18.
9. Judah, Hettie. "Artist Petrit Halilaj's Living Archaeology". Frieze (201). ISSN 0962-0672. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
10. Cherubini, Laura (18 February 2016). "Petrit Halilaj". Flash Art.
11. "Petrit Halilaj "Space Shuttle in the Garden" at HangarBicocca, Milan". Mousse Magazine. 2 March 2016.
12. "Berlin Biennale 2010: where art imitates real life | Skye Sherwin". the Guardian. 15 June 2010.
13. Editor, News (2012-12-21). "Curator Kathrin Rhomberg selected Petrit Halilaj to represent Kosovo at the 55th Venice Biennial 2013". Biennial Foundation. Retrieved 2020-07-18.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
14. "Hammer Projects: Petrit Halilaj | Hammer Museum". hammer.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
15. "petrit halilaj turns madrid's palacio de cristal into nest of giant flowers". designboom | architecture & design magazine. 24 July 2020.
16. "Kosovar Artist Withdraws from Belgrade Biennial over Country of Origin Dispute". Exit - Explaining Albania. 29 July 2020.
17. "Petrit Halilaj. Shkrepëtima". Fondazione Merz. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
18. Panicelli, Ida. "Critics' Picks – New York: Petrit Halilaj". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
19. "Petrit Halilaj: Space Shuttle in the Garden". Pirelli HangarBicocca. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
20. Albrethsen, Pernille (2019-06-05). "Summer Sonata 2019 – Denmark". Kunstkritikk. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
21. "Biennale Arte 2017 | Homepage 2017". La Biennale di Venezia. 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
22. Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne-Centre (7 July 2020). "Musée national d'art moderne – Centre Pompidou". Navigart.fr (in French).
23. "Collection". MEF.
24. "Petrit Halilaj, Do you realise there is a rainbow even if it's night!? (beige), 2017". MCA.
25. "Petrit Halilaj - Do you realise there is a rainbow even if it's night!?". artmuseum.pl.
26. "Petrit Halilaj born 1986". Tate.
27. "Petrit Halilaj : Space Shuttle in the Garden - Les presses du réel (book)". www.lespressesdureel.com. Retrieved 2020-08-02.