Portraits in sculptures, coming from the collection of the Shkodra Art Gallery, were presented at the exhibition “Head to Head,” which opened the curtain on activities for the year 2024.

An ironic and provocative title at the same time has been chosen for this exhibition because Albanian society is closely connected to the head, and the confrontation in this exhibition with many frozen heads is a sensation that raises many questions, says the exhibition director, Fatmir Juka:

“It is a very important element in the communication process. The head is an institution, and we like to discuss and often bring it into discussion. We are in a time when individual issues are raised and analyzed daily. But the head itself is somewhat of a historical element. We Albanians are historically connected to the ‘head,’ the head of the family, the head of society, the head that makes decisions, but this relationship with the head has changed. When we find ourselves facing a head, the discussion between us as the public and a head as a sculptural form is much more approachable. This is precisely the moment that has interested us to confront: a living head and a frozen head. Both have a moment of transmission, exploration, doubt,” he says.

The sculptures presented in this exhibition by several well-known Shkodra artists belong to the late ’70s to the 2000s.

“It is a 40-50 year period of the creative work of Shkodra sculptors, Ferit Kola, Ashim Kruja, Skënder Kraja, Sadik Spahia, Sali Kola, Petrit Bilali… So, there is a group of artists who convey to us a bit of the sculpture tradition, but also the possibilities of experimentation that they had to deal with sculpture at that time. Still, why not, it also tells us about the relationship with the subject they have taken as a model, in processing above… There is a lot of emotion inside as an exhibition,” Director Juka said.

In the promotion of the exhibition held on January 20 in Shkodra, all the sculptor artists gathered to review their works over the years, which now belong to the collection but were exhibited with much love in the portrait exhibition “Head to Head.”

The Art Gallery in Shkodra has a significant collection and equally important authors representing the years from 1970, 1980, and 1990.

Weighty authors of the city, or otherwise called classical authors, present their works mainly in the genre of portraiture, as the exhibition itself is built based on the portrait. They come with their freedom, various techniques such as ceramics, stone, marble, casting in bronze, stylized portraits, more academic portraits, etc.

The beauty of this exhibition is that, regarding the theme, the portraits stand out where emotional reconciliations are evident, moments when the artist is closely connected with people from his life, thus family portraits. But the exhibition also includes portraits linked to our historical figures, monumental works destined for squares, schools, etc., which after the ’90s lost their decorative function, gathered in the Gallery’s collection, and are now exhibited to the public.

In addition to the exhibited works of sculpture teachers in Shkodra, over the years and generations, this exhibition also serves as a call for young sculptors who, with their works, have a place in this gallery. It is a call for young artists to follow the inspiring example of the city’s most famous artists and their work.

/k.s/