Sislej Xhafa

Artist Talk

March 10, 2017 / 18:30

Join artist Sislej Xhafa to discuss his work in relation to Pera Museum’s Cold Front from the Balkans exhibition. The artist will discuss his work Still Untitled from the exhibition as well as his other works. The talk will focus on stereotypical views, an on-going theme in many of his works, as well as how the social, economic, and political reality of today’s society are positioned around consumption culture. His Kosovan roots and the questioning of legal status constitute the basis of his artistic quest. He uses his personal experiences to study the processes such as tourism, enforced illegality, the concept of a nation, and the refusal to use the right to vote. Xhafa uses a conceptual language and an ironic, humorous, and disruptive attitude.

Sislej Xhafa was born in Kosova in 1970 and currently lives in New York. Throughout his career, he has held many exhibitions in international venues. Among selected exhibitions are MAXXI Museum, Rome (2016); GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano (2016); 55th Venice Biennial, Italian Pavilion, Venice (2013); Blain Southern Gallery, London (2013); Non Gallery, Istanbul (2012); GALLERIA CONTINUA, Les Moulins (2012). Xhafa will represent the Republic of Kosova at the 2017 Venice Biennial.

Free of admissions, drop in. This event will take place in the auditorium. The talk will be in English with simultaneous Turkish translation.

Temporary Exhibition

Cold Front from the Balkans

Pera Museum’s Cold Front from the Balkans exhibition curated by Ali Akay and Alenka Gregorič brought together contemporary artists from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.

Cold Front from the Balkans

Memory of the Region

Memory of the Region

Objects also bear the memory of the geography to which they relate. Ceramics, with soil as their primary material, are directly linked to the land where they are produced: forging a direct relationship with earth, ceramics bear the memory of the soil where they come from.

From Cypresses to Turkish Landscapes

From Cypresses to Turkish Landscapes

Among the most interesting themes in the oeuvre of Prassinos are cypresses, trees, and Turkish landscapes. The cypress woods in Üsküdar he saw every time he stepped out on the terrace of their house in İstanbul or the trees in Petits Champs must have been strong images of childhood for Prassinos. 

The Notions of Race Fred Wilson

The Notions of Race Fred Wilson

Pera Museum, in collaboration with Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), is one of the main venues for this year’s 15th Istanbul Biennial from 16 September to 12 November 2017.