Künstler*innengespräch mit Kemil Bekteši, Rina Krasniqi, Denys Shantar

In the organizer's words:

The exhibition Knots of Time brings together works by three artists from Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ukraine/Switzerland. They explore cultural influences such as the faiths they were born into or the cities in which they grew up. They weave moments from the past into new imaginative narratives that revolve around themes such as queer identity or family relationships. They work artistically with a variety of materials and media such as textiles, installation and performance. The exhibition is curated by Simon Kurti. He is a curatorial fellow of the GfZK - Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig and the Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen (KdFS).

Artists of the exhibition:

Kemil Bekteši is a Kosovar artist. Based on his personal history, which is characterized by borders and migration, he deals with topics such as identity, geopolitics and cultural memory. His artistic practice includes installations, sculptures and public interventions. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo (BA) and the Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto (PT). Bekteši has received several awards, including the ZVONO Art Prize 2024 for young visual artists in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He lives and works in Sarajevo.

Rina Krasniqi is a Kosovar artist and writer. Her drawings have been published in books, magazines, exhibitions and festivals. She currently runs the publishing house Lirindja and is the artistic editor of the magazine meDiell. Her first solo exhibition Drawings was shown at the Ministry of Culture Gallery in Pristina, Kosovo in 2023. She has participated in several group exhibitions, including Only the Rain Saved Us (YIHR Kosova, 2023), Why Haven't We Built a Dyson Sphere (2022) and Artists of Granfest - Graphic Novel Festival (2025). She lives and works in Pristina.

Denys Shantar draws on his experiences as a queer Ukrainian immigrant who grew up in an Eastern Orthodox community in Zurich. He works with textile collages and embroidery and uses recycled materials to create personal narratives. He references Byzantine and Catholic iconography as well as monumental works from the Soviet era. Shantar studied at the Zurich University of the Arts (CH) and completed a master's degree in costume design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (BE). He has exhibited at Z33 in Hasselt (BE), Zilberman (DE) and Helmhaus Zurich (CH), among others. He lives and works in Antwerp.