Petrit Halilaj understands exhibitions as a way to alter the
course of personal and collective histories, creating complex worlds
that claim space for freedom, desire, intimacy, and identity. His work
is deeply connected to the recent history of his native country Kosovo
and the consequences of cultural and political tensions in the region,
which he often takes as a starting point for igniting countercurrent
poetics for the future. Rooted in his biography, the projects encompass a
variety of media, including sculpture, drawing, painting, text, and
performance. Often incorporating materials from Kosovo and manifesting
as ambitious spatial installations, his work transposes personal
relationships, places, and people into sculptural forms. Halilaj’s
practice can be seen as a playful and, at times, irreverent attempt to
resist oppressive politics and social norms towards an untamed
celebration of all forms of connectedness and freedom.
In April 2024 Petrit Halilaj presented a site-specific installation for the Met Rooftop Garden Commission in New York. In November 2023, the exhibition 'Petrit Halilaj: Runik' opened at Tamayo Museum, Mexico, and since December 2023 his work is on view at the NGV Triennial in Melbourne, Australia. In 2022 he took part in Manifesta 14 in Pristina, Kosovo with a large-scale public art work that is now on permanent display in the city. In 2021, Tate St Ives presented his solo exhibition 'Very volcanic over this green feather'. Petrit Halilaj represented Kosovo at its first national pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013.
*1982 in Priština, Yugoslavia, now Kosovo. Lives and works in Munich, Germany.
Work: Its Urgency Got Lost in Reverse (While Being in Constant Delay)
Artist/Works
*1994 in Gjilan, Kosovo. Lives and works in Priština, Kosovo.
Work: Is this the Island of Happiness
Artist/Works
