{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-article-js","path":"/brilant-milazimi-on-representing-kosovo-at-the-61st-venice-biennale/","result":{"data":{"wordpressPost":{"id":123999,"slug":"brilant-milazimi-on-representing-kosovo-at-the-61st-venice-biennale","title":"Brilant Milazimi on Representing Kosovo at the 61st Venice Biennale","excerpt":"“I always loved how despite isolation, I felt that I grew up in a context that produces such inexhaustible sources of enthusiasm”","content":"\n<p><strong>“I always loved how despite isolation, I felt that I grew up in a context that produces such inexhaustible sources of enthusiasm”</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>ArtReview</em> sent a questionnaire to artists and curators exhibiting in and curating the various national pavilions of the 2026 Venice Biennale, the responses to which will be published daily in the leadup to and during the Venice Biennale, which runs from 9 May through 22 November. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brilant Milazimi is representing the Republic of Kosovo; the Pavilion is at the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Pianto.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Celebrating Visions. Versace partners with&nbsp;</em>ArtReview<em>&nbsp;to share stories from the 2026 Venice Biennale.</em></p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03_Brilant_Milazimi_Portrait_Photo_Majlinda_Hoxha-1230x1845.png\" alt=\"Brilant Milazimi\" class=\"wp-image-124008\" srcset=\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03_Brilant_Milazimi_Portrait_Photo_Majlinda_Hoxha-1230x1845.png 1230w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03_Brilant_Milazimi_Portrait_Photo_Majlinda_Hoxha-600x900.png 600w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03_Brilant_Milazimi_Portrait_Photo_Majlinda_Hoxha-300x450.png 300w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03_Brilant_Milazimi_Portrait_Photo_Majlinda_Hoxha-768x1152.png 768w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03_Brilant_Milazimi_Portrait_Photo_Majlinda_Hoxha-1024x1536.png 1024w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03_Brilant_Milazimi_Portrait_Photo_Majlinda_Hoxha.png 1333w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1230px) 100vw, 1230px\" /><figcaption>Photo: Majlinda Hoxha</figcaption></figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ArtReview </strong><em>Tell </em>ArtReview<em> what you plan to exhibit in Venice. What has influenced or inspired you? </em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Brilant Milazimi </strong>In Venice, I will present a monumental painting installation consisting of eight panels complemented by several other paintings and a sound piece. The exhibition is titled <em>Hard Teeth (Dhëmbë të Fortë)</em> and is curated by José Esparza Chong Cuy, with exhibition design by LANZA Atelier.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was born and raised in Kosovo and for 24 years I never left my country because we did not have the right to travel freely in Europe until 2024. This isolation has had a significant impact on my practice. The everyday life of people, their perseverance, the moments of joy and the slips of consciousness.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR</strong> <em>In what ways (if at all) does your work relate to the theme of the Biennale exhibition, </em>In Minor Keys<em>?</em><em></em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BM </strong>I think my work is very much related to the ‘minor keys’ theme. ​Minor keys as a musical term is something I wanted to capture and transform into a visual language through painting by composing a pictorial song on fabric with the idea of evoking ​​melancholic visual stories as defined by minor keys and a sound which denotes tension and perfectly encapsulates the intentions behind <em>Hard Teeth</em>. More specifically, it ties in with ideas I’ve been developing for the Kosovo Pavilion around waiting and endurance. The possibility of moving freely and safely. It also motivated me to introduce a musical piece by Liburn Jupolli composed in minor keys. While my medium is primarily painting, I sometimes branch out into sculpture and in this case audio, which helps set the tone for the intended experience in the work.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR</strong> <em>Why is the Venice Biennale still important, if at all? </em><em></em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BM</strong> With so much going on it can seem at times irrelevant, however, the Venice Biennale to me is a celebration of the diversity of culture and identity. It sets the stage for a physical and cultural dialogue, where local and national ideas and expressions intertwine among the crowd of people. In a more personal sense, for a country like Kosovo, shaped by a recent history of war, political transition and an ongoing process of recognition, the Venice Biennale is a global platform where, through art and cultural production, Kosovo can assert its presence on the world stage while contributing to a broader dialogue.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR</strong> <em>What role does a national pavilion play at a time of increasing confrontational nationalisms? Is it about expressing difference or commonality?<br><br></em><strong>BM </strong>For Kosovo, nationalism is not a matter of confrontation but of existence. We are a relatively new country, having declared independence in 2008. In a larger context, I had a show once that I called, <em>One Ball for All</em>. The idea was that we all live on the same planet and play with the same ball, yet we have different experiences due to our differences. We all know a different part of it and so in coming together and sharing these different experiences we then can better understand the world as a whole and that essence of the thing that is all. In a micro scale, each pavilion allows for the expression of this ideal.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/05_Brilant_Milazimi_Hard_Teeth_2026_Detail-1230x820.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-124010\" srcset=\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/05_Brilant_Milazimi_Hard_Teeth_2026_Detail-1230x820.png 1230w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/05_Brilant_Milazimi_Hard_Teeth_2026_Detail-600x400.png 600w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/05_Brilant_Milazimi_Hard_Teeth_2026_Detail-300x200.png 300w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/05_Brilant_Milazimi_Hard_Teeth_2026_Detail-768x512.png 768w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/05_Brilant_Milazimi_Hard_Teeth_2026_Detail-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/05_Brilant_Milazimi_Hard_Teeth_2026_Detail.png 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1230px) 100vw, 1230px\" /><figcaption><em>Hard Teeth</em> (detail),<em> </em>2026. Photo: Majlinda Hoxha. Courtesy the artist</figcaption></figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR</strong> <em>Who, for you, is the most important artist (in any discipline) that your country has produced? </em><em></em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BM </strong>I don&#8217;t have a name. For me, the important artists that Kosovo has produced are the artists classified as modernists, such as: Adem Kastrati, Nystret Salihamixhiq, Alije Vokshi. The interesting thing about Kosovo is that it has many young artists, my contemporaries and close friends, who are very unique in their way of expression. We are a relatively new country, our first time for art at the Venice biennial was in 2013. We have always had young artists representing our pavilion and in such a short time we managed to share our personal and collective stories through art. We have managed to create our own identity, opposite to the classical constructs that were taught to us, with very limited resources and without having the kind of access to the art world that we wished for.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR</strong> <em>What is something you want people to know about your nation that they might not know already?</em><em></em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BM </strong>Something I love is the energy of youth that Kosovo contains. The love, generosity and warmth that they carry with them despite the history and events we have gone through. I always loved how despite isolation, I felt that I grew up in a context that produces such inexhaustible sources of enthusiasm.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR</strong> <em>Given that you are exhibiting in a national pavilion, is there something (a quality or an issue or attitude) that distinguishes the art of that nation from that of others? That makes it particular? Are there specific contexts that it responds to? Or do you think that art is a universal language that goes beyond social, political or geographic boundaries?<br></em><br><strong>BM </strong>The project we are working on for the Kosovo Pavilion is very specific. It does not provide any answers, but rather raises questions. In Venice and beyond, artists from smaller countries like Kosovo are often expected to explain themselves, to produce clear and easily readable narratives. This has never been my ambition. I want to create works that stand strong in their stillness, that create an environment where others can enter and stay. A space that resonates beyond individual experiences and that conveys strong emotions without having to be explanatory or instructive.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR</strong> <em>What, other than art, are you looking forward to seeing –&nbsp;or doing –&nbsp;while you are in Venice?<br><br></em><strong>BM </strong>When I&#8217;m in Venice, besides art and work, I&#8217;m very excited that my family will come: it&#8217;s the first international exhibition that they will be present for at the opening. They&#8217;ve also never been to Italy, and I can hardly wait to show them the beautiful city of Venice. Also, many friends are coming for the show, and I look forward to having a spritz with each of them. I’m very excited as well to see other pavilions in similar political situations, like Taiwan.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR</strong> <em>Could you give us a brief overview of your average working day while creating your presentation in Venice?<br><br></em><strong>BM </strong>I wake up early, which is late for most, have a coffee and a cigarette in the city of Prishtina while nervously checking my emails, then go to the studio, read a little first, then paint alone in the studio for hours, without a break, without music, just to the sound of thoughts and brush strokes. I repeat this every day. Some days, if I don&#8217;t go to the studio, I go out to the mountains and villages of Kosovo with my girlfriend or my friends, an activity that is very closely related to the work I am doing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR</strong> <em>Can art really change the world?</em><em></em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BM </strong>I believe that art should be an honest but also critical reflection on the world and the life that unfolds in it. After that, it’s up to us.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The&nbsp;</em><a href=\"https://artreview.com/category/venice-biennale-2026/\"><em>61st Venice Biennale</em></a><em>&nbsp;runs 9 May through 22 November 2026</em></p>\n","path":"/brilant-milazimi-on-representing-kosovo-at-the-61st-venice-biennale/","format":"standard","date":"07 July 2026","rawDate":"2026-07-07T09:57:30.000Z","branch":{"name":"artreview.com"},"author":{"name":"ArtReview","path":"/author/artreview/"},"category":{"name":"Venice Biennale: Artist Q&As","path":"/category/venice-questionnaire/"},"featured_media":{"source_url":"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/05_Brilant_Milazimi_Hard_Teeth_2026_Detail.png","caption":"","alt_text":"","media_details":{"width":2000,"height":1333,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"source_url":"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/05_Brilant_Milazimi_Hard_Teeth_2026_Detail-300x200.png","width":300,"height":200},"medium":{"source_url":"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/05_Brilant_Milazimi_Hard_Teeth_2026_Detail-600x400.png","width":600,"height":400},"large":{"source_url":"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/05_Brilant_Milazimi_Hard_Teeth_2026_Detail-1230x820.png","width":1230,"height":820},"wordpress_1536x1536":{"source_url":"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/05_Brilant_Milazimi_Hard_Teeth_2026_Detail-1536x1024.png","width":1536,"height":1024},"wordpress_2048x2048":null}}},"acf":{"article_artist":null,"article_video":null,"article_audio":null,"article_collaboration":"","article_custom_html_snippet":"","article_featured_title":"","article_featured_description":"","article_highlight":false,"article_custom_link_url":"","hero_image":null,"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","article_related_articles":[{"id":119519,"title":"Norton 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