Material of the Moment
Moments from the past can act like an echo in the present and lead to special moments there. Ymer Shaqiri, whose works are almost always based on memories of his homeland, succeeds in this transformation. They are incredibly gripping in their abstraction, fascinatingly close due to their detailed elaboration, and their sensitivity creates an unexpected, personal depth. The exhibition in the Raumgalerie shows some of the most important works by the artist from Kosovo, who sadly passed away in 2021.
The work of the artist Ymer Shaqiri opens up a wide range and should therefore be viewed under the special circumstances of his life. Ymer Shaqiri was born in Kosovo in 1953, grew up without parents in Pristina and studied graphic design at the art academy there from 1977 to 1981, then in Belgrade. He then taught as a lecturer and worked for several years in the art association of the Obiliq community near Pristina. In the 1990s, the pressure of the then political regime on artists grew enormously, making it impossible for Ymer Shaqiri to work in the art association. So he left his home in 1996 and has lived since then with his wife Qefsere and his two children in Brühl near Mannheim. He has always drawn everything that came before his eyes, often in detail, but also abstractly, from the memory of his first, extremely formative decades of life. These resonances from his own past and the reflection on what he has seen and remembered are the fuel of his incessant work, the basis of all the works that will be created up to 2021.
The renowned art historian Dr. Antje Lechleiter described this at a vernissage in March in 2017 as follows: “Ymer Shaqiri's preoccupation with remembered places and objects has produced incredibly fascinating images. Although he starts from what he sees, he is not interested in creating an image. He keeps his composition open and expands it for the images that we carry within us." For example, you can see the recurring picture elements such as old walls, windows and shutters, doors, wires and nails. They are made using a specific technique in which acrylic paint is applied layer by layer until a plate several millimeters thick is created. The plate dries for at least half a year before it is further processed by scratching and scraping. This creates surfaces and materials of astonishing depth and illusions that convey the idea of the familiar, but do not describe it in concrete terms. The motifs, which radiate calm and dignity, mostly show sections, which intensify perception and inspire the imagination. They are inner places that one experiences when looking at them. Ymer Shaqiri has received numerous awards, and his works have been shown in exhibitions in Kosovo, Slovenia, Germany, Norway, Italy, Switzerland, the USA and Japan.
The works shown in the Raumgalerie offer an insight into the work of Ymer Shaqiri over the last 20 years of his work, of which the years between 2016 and 2021 in particular can be described as a very creative and intensive phase. In 2019, Ymer Shaqiri and his wife Qefsere were personally in the Raumgalerie to show his pictures. The corona pandemic and ultimately his much too early death unfortunately put our joint plans for an exhibition on hold. We are all the more pleased to be able to present this selection and thus make it accessible to visitors. Qefsere Shaqiri will be present at the vernissage.
Ymer Shaqiri's works can be purchased in the Raumgalerie.
Opening: 16.8.2024, 6:30 pm