TIRANA, Jan. 15 – Albanian painter Bashkim Izano has dedicated his first exhibition in England to the English painter Edward Lear, famous for his travels through Albania and Macedonia in the 19th century.
“Edward Lear’s paintings of Albania embody observations of a beautiful and unknown land. They offer a unique and romantic insight into the Albania of middle 19th century, a wild yet captivating corner of Europe. Lear’s paintings and drawings influenced the Albanian romantic art of the time and have as such been interesting and inspiring to the artist,” says the London gallery where the exhibition is being displayed.
Izano has chosen a collection of works that are observations of Albanian folklore and nature. His imagery is representational in nature but imbued with romantic sensibility.
A public gallery in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Berat is also named after Edward Lear. Open since 1994, the gallery named after British author Edward Lear, is one of the eldest and most important galleries in Albania. Its collection reveals the contemporary and traditional works of arts by Albanian and foreign artists.
This exhibition organized by the Albanian embassy in the UK, will remain open at the 12 Star Gallery in London until June 2015.
Bashkim Izano Ahmeti was born in Albania. After completing his studies at the Artistic Lyceum and later at the Academy of Arts in Tirana he worked as a set designer at the city theatre of Gjirokastra and was involved in shows at the Theatre of Opera and the National Theatre in Tirana. Along with set design he directed a group of artists in the interior design of several national museums where he also created historical murals in the media of fresco. During this time he opened several personal exhibits as well as participated in national and international exhibits and biennales. From 1998 he was a professor of painting at the Academy of Arts in Tirana until 1995. In 1995 he moved to the US where he currently lives as a freelance artist in Summit NJ. He exhibits in New York, New Jersey as well as his native country Albania.
