Perspectives of the Everyday

Rusty nails, gnarled wires, and weathered wood. A decrepit tin, paint-smeared brushes, rooms in a state of decay falling into the depths, and impenetrable walls that appear to crumble… 

Ymer Shaqiri’s works are testimonial to his life. Breaks and vague uncertainties mark his path over and over again.

Born in Kosovo under extremely poor conditions, Ymer Shaqiri still managed to graduate from the Academies of Arts in Pristina as well as in Belgrade and finished his studies as a graphic artist. However, his artistic pursuit became increasingly difficult due to the political situation in Kosovo at the time. In 1996 he came to Germany to start anew and carved out his place through numerous exhibitions. He gained notoriety and was represented at various biennials, garnering awards and international recognition.

In 2021, Shaqiri died unexpectedly while working near Pristina. This year, the artist is being honored by his home country with a stamp series showcasing his works. Villa Haiss is also paying tribute to Shaqiri with an extensive retrospective. With gallery owner Walter Bischoff, they were not only connected by a working relationship but also by a long-standing friendship.

Ymer Shaqiri was sensitive, delicate and extremely disciplined and this is reflected in his works, primarily small-scaled, but expressive. The exhibition “Perspectives of the Everyday” gathers works from all corners and thematic spaces of his œuvre.

His paintings are charged with tension, combining the technique of in and pen design with colorful brushed elements. The hues and shadows create such plastic impressions that one is summoned to reach out and grab the brush from the paint-stained writing paper or pull the rusty nail from its cracked wood. In his abstract works, elements keep shifting forward or backward. Shaqiri arranges lines and planes to create a balanced field of tension.

A special feature in this exhibition are the flowering branches that seem to blossom from delicate dabs of color, as well as a study of the chili pepper, which was painted from every perspective and shines out toward the viewer from every which direction.