Alban Muja
Alban Muja (born 10 September 1980) is a Kosovan contemporary artist and film-maker.[1] In 2019 he represented Kosovo at the 58th Venice Biennale.[2] In his work he is mostly influenced by the social, political and economical transformation processes in wider surrounding region, he investigates history and socio-political themes and links them to his position in Kosovo today. His works cover a wide range of media including video installation, films, drawings, paintings, photographs and performance which have been exhibited extensively in various exhibitions and festivals.
Exhibitions (selection)
- 2022 - ‘ Manifesta 14', Pishtina, Prishtina, Kosovo[3]
- 2022 - ‘Hot Mess', Kühlhaus, Berlin, Germany[4]
- 2021 - ‘Beyond Borders', Center for Contemporary Arts, Celje, Slovenia[5]
- 2021 - ‘Whatever Happens, We Will Be Prepared’, The National Gallery of Kosovo, Prishtina, Kosovo[6]
- 2021 -‘In spite of everything, there is a wall' Charim Gallery, Vienna, Austria,[7]
- 2021 - 'Family Album' ISCP, New York,[8]
- 2021 - 3rd Autostrada Biennale - WHAT IF A JOURNEY..., Prizren, Kosovo[9]
- 2021 - ‘Bigger Than Myself: Heroic Voices from Ex-Yugoslavia’ Maxxi Museum Rome, Italy[10]
- 2020 – 3rd Industrial Art Biennial 'Ride Into the Sun' Rijeka, Croatia[11]
- 2020 – Curated by 20 'HYBRID Unknown Identities' Galerie Raum mit Light, Vienna, Austria
- 2020 – Family Album, Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary[12]
- 2019 – 58th. Venice Biennale - May You Live In Interesting Times, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]
- 2019 – NSK State in Time, viennacontemporary Vienna, Austria[27]
- 2019 – F.M The Process, Petrit Gallery, Cite des Arts, Paris, France[28]
- 2019 – 'All That We Have In Common' MOMus Experimental Center for the Arts Thessaloniki, Greece
- 2018 – 'Stranger Than Paradise' MeetFactory Prague, Czech Republic
- 2018 – 'All That We Have In Common' Museum Of Contemporary Art Skopje, North Macedonia
- 2017 – Autostrada Biennale 2017 - The Future of Borders, Autostrada Biennale, Prizren, Kosovo[29]
- 2017 – 'Symptoms of Society' Zhejiang Art Museum Hangzhou, China
- 2017 – 'Migration of fear' Koroska Gallery of Fine Arts Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia
- 2017 – Westkunst – Ostkunst. A Selection from the Collection, Ludwig Museum Budapest, Hungary
- 2017 – 'Utopia / Dystopia: Architecture, City, Territory' Mestna Galerija Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 2017 – 'The Travellers' Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia
- 2017 – 'Symptoms of Society' Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
- 2017 – 'Migration of fear' Forum Stadpark, Graz, Austria
- 2016 – 'Omul Negru' Galeria Nicodim, Los Angeles
- 2016 – 'Brotherhood Phallicism' Museum of Fine Art, Split, Croatia[30]
- 2016 – The whale that was a submarine' Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary
- 2016 – 'The Travellers' Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland[31]
- 2016 – 'Normalities' Austrian Cultural Forum, New York
- 2015 – 3rd Mardin Biennial - Mythologies, Mardin Biennial Mardin, Turkey[32]
- 2015 – 'Theories on Forgetting' Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills
- 2015 – 'From Brotherhood to Brotherly Love' Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
- 2015 – 'From Brotherhood to Brotherly Love' 'Trieste Contemporanea, Trieste, Italy
- 2014 – 'I never knew how to explain' Skuc Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia[33]
- 2014 – 'Balcony to the Balkans' Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany
- 2013 – 2nd Project Biennial Of Contemporary Art, D-0 Ark Underground Project Biennial of Contemporary Art, Konjic Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 2012 – 'Hebron Road/Ridge Route', Art Cube Gallery, Jerusalem
- 2012 – 'Mediterranean – Arrivals and Departure', Ancona, Italy
- 2012 – 'Cross-Time Stories' Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York
- 2011 – 'Spaceship Yugoslavia' NGBK, Berlin[34]
- 2011 – 'Its all about names' KC Tobacna 001-Mesnta Museum, Ljubljana, Slovenia[35]
- 2011 – 'Politics of naming' Myymala2 Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
- 2011 – '255 804 km2' – Brot Kunsthalle, Vienna, Austria[36]
- 2010 – 'The Another Side of The Coin' Škuc Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 2010 – 'Qui Vive?' Moscow International Biennale, Moscow
- 2010 – 'Spasticus Artisticus' Ceri Hand Gallery, Liverpool
- 2009 – 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts Ljubljana, Slovenia[37]
Personal life
Born in Mitrovica, SFR Yugoslavia, now Kosovo. Muja lives and works in Pristina and Berlin He graduated with a Bachelor and Master's degree from the Faculty of Arts, University of Pristina. He is married to photographer and former model Albe Hamiti.
References
- "Alban Muja". Artfacts. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
- "Kosove Republic". LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
- "Manifesta 14 Prishtina – Public Survey Results". manifesta.org. June 2023.
- "Hotmess". kuehlhaus-berlin.com. May 2022.
- "Beyond Borders". 20 September 2021.
- https://galeriakombetare-rks.com/al/ekspozita/32/alban-muja-whatever-happens-we-will-be-preparedl
- "Alban Muja | in spite of everything, there is a wall".
- "Alban Muja: Family Album".
- "Moving Monument, 2021 – Autostrada Biennale".
- "Più grande di me. Voci eroiche dalla ex Jugoslavia | MAXXI". 16 February 2021.
- "Alban Muja | Industrial Art Biennial". 16 October 2020.
- "Alban Muja: Family Album". 10 February 2020.
- "An artist revisits famous images from the Kosovo war – Memory and the media". The Economist. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
- "The Venice Questionnaire: Alban Muja".
- "Kosovo's Venice Biennale Pavilion Will Recall the Last European War of the 20th Century". 3 April 2019.
- "Alban Muja: Family Album - Announcements - e-flux".
- "Alban Muja to Represent Kosovo at 2019 Venice Biennale".
- "Alban Muja Will Represent Kosovo at the 2019 Venice Biennale". 29 March 2019.
- "Kosovar artist Alban Muja reflects on war, survival and how a refugee camp changes you".
- "The Venice Biennale's 10 Best Pavilions". 10 May 2019.
- "Il Padiglione Kosovo alla Biennale d'arte di Venezia 2019 | Artribune". 23 April 2019.
- http://www.opinione.it/cultura/2019/05/10/domenico-letizia_kosovo-guerra-artista-alban-muja-biennale-venezia-vincent-honor%C3%A9-alma-lama-hashim-tha%C3%A7i-aleksandar-vu%C4%8Di%C4%87/
- "What not to miss in Venice during the Biennale".
- "Intervistë me Alban Mujën, artisti që përfaqëson Kosovën në Bienalen e Venedikut". 9 May 2019.
- "Alban Muja: I want to share what we experienced as a society, because we've forgotten". 6 May 2019.
- "Alban Muja: Family Album. The Kosovo Pavilion—58th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia - Mousse Publishing". www.moussepublishing.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-25.
- "Viennacontemporary 2019 | Focus: NSK State in Time". 17 September 2019.
- "Exhibition & Conversation – F.M - the process - Alban Muja".
- "Moving Monument, 2021 – Autostrada Biennale".
- "ALBAN MUJA // Brotherhood Phallicism 8 December 2016 – 3 January 2017 Curator: Branko Franceschi".
- "The Travellers - Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki".
- SAHA (2015-06-15). "SAHA". SAHA. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
- "Alban Muja: I Never Knew How to Explain…".
- "Raumschiff Jugoslawien. Die Aufhebung der Zeit (2011) – NGBK Archive".
- "Alban Muja".
- "255.804 km² – Young Art from the Former Yugoslavia (Brot Kunsthalle, Vienna) | Wartist". 25 May 2011.
- "| MGLC - International centre of graphic arts".