Violeta Xhaferi: Revisions

The retrospective exhibition Violeta Xhaferi: Revisions showcases the five decades-long practice of the artist. The exhibition aims to foreground the work of Violeta Xhaferi, which has continuously evolved as a reaction to the socio-political developments she was immersed in.  

The exhibition brings together over a hundred works, including drawings, collages, paintings, prints, an installation, and archival materials that provide further insights into her work and life. Arranged according to distinct time periods, the exhibition presents the ways in which Xhaferi weaves different mediums and materials to build worlds of expressions and recollections. 

Violeta Xhaferi is one of her generation’s most uncompromising artists in Kosovo, renowned for her interdisciplinary approach. Drawings and collages of costumes that she produced between the 1970s to 1980s synthesize her invaluable contribution to the National Theater of Kosovo as the first academically trained costume designer in Kosovo. During exile in Norway in the 1990s, she created paintings and prints that reflect a critical and poignant take on Kosovo’s conflict and geopolitical situation of that period. Her engagement with pressing social matters is further evident in the body of works created in the early 2000s. Alongside the well-known and previously unseen works, the exhibition features a newly commissioned large-scale canvas installation depicting sublime nature sceneries. The show echoes Xhaferi’s resolution to subvert social structures and unveils the vast scope of her ingenious practice. 

Violeta Xhaferi’s oeuvre is marked by critical, captivating, and joyous perspectives on life, along with an unwavering sense of urgency in addressing pertinent and immediate issues. The exhibition unravels an extraordinary overview of Xhaferi’s overlooked legacy and extensive practice, and challenges the prevailing art historical narratives within local and international contexts.  

Curated by Hana Halilaj. 

Violeta Xhaferi (b.1947) is a costume designer, painter, and interior designer. Xhaferi studied Costume Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade and graduated in 1972. Upon her return to Kosovo she established herself as an esteemed costume designer, working in over a hundred plays at the National Theater of Kosovo and several films produced by Kosovafilm. Presented in many exhibitions, Xhaferi’s drawings of meticulous costume designs put equal emphasis on the character’s facial features. A series of these works are in the National Gallery of Kosovo collection. After going into exile in Norway in the 1990s, her focus shifted to paintings and prints. In the early 2000s, she assumed a professorship at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prishtina for two years. Recently, she developed a newfound dedication to canvas installations, merging her artistic practice with painting and textiles. Currently, she lives and works between Kristiansand and Prishtina.

The exhibition is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of the Republic of Kosovo.