Venice Biennale to host viewing of Marubi collection

Marubi in VeniceVENICE, June.7 – A special selection of photographs of the Marubi collection will be presented in an artistic series at the Venice Biennale. This is an important project of the National Art Gallery of Albania, coordinated by Rubens Shima and Riccardo Caldura, called “Atelier Albania – Ritratto di un paese nelle immagini della Fototeca Marubi”. The exhibition was opened at the Cultural Center “Cardiani” and will last till June 15.
The scope of the Marubi photographs is striking and, placed in its historical context, portrays the roots of artistic endeavors in Albania. Rediscovering the Marubi tradition has been an inspiration to many artists, and for the first time was seen in video-art by Anri Sala “Dꫥuner avec Marubi” (1997). The collection of negatives is extremely important for Albanian art in general, and for Balkan art in providing a historical perspective. It is considered a collection valued as part of our world heritage. The original glass plaques are safeguarded in Albania and have been registered electronically. The founder was Pietro Marubi, a pioneer of world photography and a participant in the regiment of Garibaldi. He was forced to leave Italy in the mid-1850 and was hiding in the city of Shkodra where he created his atelier. He changed his name to the more common Pjet철and, after his death in 1940, his work was carried on by his collaborators, Mati and Kel Kodheli. After the premature death of Mati, Kel Kodheli made the archive well known and began to receive offers form the Montenegrin royal court for portraits and group photos. The business was inherited by his son, Gege, who studied in the 1920’s in Paris near the Lumiere brothers. He receives many prizes and closed the studio only after the creation of the Communist regime in 1944. In 1974. Geg롍arubi left the entire archive to the Albanian state.