Gazmend Freitag's Exhibit is in a class by itself!

06 November, 2015 17:38:00

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“Beautiful Moments” (Schöne Momente / Momente te Bukura) by Gazmend Freitag is currently running at the Sozialversicherung der Gewerblichen Wirtschaft – and the exhibit is in a class by itself!

Ursula Pfeiffer

Vienna, November 5, 2015

“Beautiful Moments” (Schöne Momente / Momente te Bukura) by Gazmend Freitag is currently running at the Sozialversicherung der Gewerblichen Wirtschaft – and the exhibit is in a class by itself!

Opening on October 22, the first ever solo exhibition in Vienna of pictures and drawings by Kosovo Albanian artist Gazmend Freitag is yet another high point in his career. A representative selection of his oil paintings and of his ink and pencil drawings created in the last year will be on display, both to admire and to purchase, at the client area of the SVA Kunstplatz until the middle of January 2016.

The large turnout of guests for the opening night of the exhibition, including some who have modeled for his work, were welcomed by Vice Chairman and Councilor of Commerce Mag. Alexander Herzog and by Ms. Yumiko Ishii from the Public Relations Office, both of who were the hosts. The curator for the exhibition, Ursula Pfeiffer from kunst-projekte, thanked the SVA team organizing the event for their cooperation and for running it so well and smoothly. In her speech, she paid tribute to Gazmend Freitag’s career and artistic creations in detail. Here is an excerpt from it:

The art produced by Gazmend Freitag is tied to his experiences as a Kosovo Albanian in the diaspora created by expulsion from their homeland, a fate he has had to share with many refugees at present. But his biography is also an example of successfully integrating a sensitive artistic personality with an overwhelmingly positive attitude toward life. For him it is quite natural to communicate through his work to many people. … I got to know Gazmend Freitag myself in 2013 when his pictures were being presented at the P.E.N. Club’s Illyricum Anthology, and was immediately fascinated with their high quality and expressive power. His Kosovar roots, his passion for France and his experiences every day in Austria resonate in them. Stylistically, his work can be classified somewhere within Classical Modernism, in the interplay between Impressionism and Expressionism, as a new, expressive form of realism. Routine situations become magical moments when narrated in canvas or paper. These are intensively expressed in the colors of his oil paintings and the strokes in his pencil, charcoal and ink drawings. Gazmend dedicates himself primarily to the human figure, especially that of the female, and to nudes. …And also worth highlighting are his numerous portraits of famous Albanian personalities such as Skanderbeg, Albania’s national hero, the actor Alexander Moissi and people whom he meets. To capture the main features, reproduce the aura and bring the right mood to a picture – it is this mixture that excites Gazmend Freitag into making portraits. They differ from photographs in the emphasis of typical features, and yet represented as either realistic or realistic in an artistic sense. On one hand, he tries to render the model as he sees in front of him while taking the liberty to change a few details, and so with his entire creation, eagerly trying out different styles. What results is not necessarily a faithful reproduction of whomever he is drawing, but rather something behind the scenes – a view into the person’s soul! …

Gazmend Freitag then greeted the guests in his native language.

Immediately following the opening speeches was a 45-minute concert featuring Solid-Tube, an Austrian blues-rock band that has become quite well-known ever since their appearance before a wide audience on the talent show “Die Grosse Chance” (The Big Break). The band took the guests on a musical journey through time, with a medley ranging from 1960s and 1970s “oldies” to original ballads they have recently composed.

The evening ended with an extensive buffet including a selection of excellent wines and many interesting conversations with the artist.

Gazmend Freitag “Beautiful Moments / Schöne Momente / Momente te bukura”

Painting and Drawings