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The politician, whose administration has been dogged by corruption allegations, has signed a contract with the Berlin gallery Société...
At this year's Frieze London and Art Basel Paris fairs, many visitors were surprised to find works by an unexpected artist: Albania's Prime Minister, Edi Rama.
Rama, who secured an unprecedented fourth term in office in May after campaigning for Albania's EU membership, is also an established artist. Trained at Tirana's Academy of Fine Arts, he spent several years working in Paris before entering politics in the late 1990s.
Since then, he has continued to create art, exhibiting at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and twice at the Venice Biennale, and often noting that drawing has helped him cope with long government meetings.
On October 9, Berlin's Societe gallery announced that it had added Rama, a charismatic and often controversial leader currently embroiled in numerous scandals, to its roster of a dozen artists.
The gallery wasted no time in showcasing its newest addition, dedicating an entire wall at Frieze London in October to around 25 of Rama’s colorful pen and oil drawings, accompanied by two painted bronze sculptures displayed on ceramic bases. A smaller selection of works, three drawings and a sculpture, were shown at Art Basel Paris the following week.
Julia Ballantyne-Way, a partner at Societe, tells The Art Newspaper that about half of the drawings have been sold and discussions are ongoing with potential buyers for all three sculptures. "They've been very well received," she says of Rama's art. "A lot of people don't know [about Rama, the artist] and they're certainly very surprised and intrigued to discover it."
She adds that “you also have people who have been following him for a long time and are excited to see him now with us and being represented.”
Ballantyne-Way says she had long been “in close contact” with Rama and recently began discussing representation after attending his solo exhibition at the Marian Goodman Gallery in Paris last year.
“It’s a new profile for us, we don’t have any other artist-politicians,” she says, adding that “the new work is really exciting. He’s incorporating a lot more bronze into the ceramics.”
Oltsen Gripshi, a contemporary Albanian artist and critic who published a book on Rama’s art last year, says the artist had moved away from communist-era realism to create a unique abstract language inspired by Kandinsky. “I consider it a new form of neo-expressionism for its blend of expressionism, abstractionism and formalism,” Gripshi says.
By cleaning up his image?
Rama returned to Albania in 1998 to serve as culture minister, later gaining international attention as mayor of Tirana (2000-11) for painting drab communist-era apartment blocks in bold colors. Since becoming prime minister in 2013, his government has overseen the restoration of major cultural heritage sites, including the National History Museum, the Venetian Tower of Durrës, and the Kurçaj Bridge.
However, his administration has also been dogged by corruption scandals. In 2023, former Environment Minister Lefter Koka received a five-year prison sentence for accepting bribes in the so-called "incinerator scandal," while Arben Ahmetaj, a former deputy prime minister, remains internationally wanted on charges of money laundering, false declaration of assets, and abuse of office.
It's a new profile for us, we don't have any other artist-politicians. The new work is exciting.
After Rama criticized Albania's anti-corruption authority following the arrest of Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, a close ally, the authority accused him in February of minimizing judicial independence.
Armando Lulaj, a contemporary artist and early critic of Rama, called the prime minister's art a PR stunt to clean up his image, claiming that the prime minister withheld funds from critics.
"My group, which criticizes his art and the government's use of cultural art, is marginalized and cannot receive public money," he says.
Ballantyne-Way denies that Rama's artistic activity has anything to do with optics. "He studied art, taught art and was a practicing artist in Paris before entering politics," she says.
Rama's works were also shown at Art Basel Miami Beach last week and will be featured in a solo exhibition during Gallery Weekend Berlin next April. / Adapted from Theartnewspaper/
Pse shapi ndonje ekspozite kur nuk ishte kryeminister ky deshtak?