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MAD Expo : Danish Jukniu

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MAD Expo : Danish Jukniu

Last night at “M.A.D Center” Gallery press Polis Univesity – where I study – there was the opening night of the paintings exhibition of one of the most unique Albanian painters, Danish Jukniu. I only knew him by the name, but I was not so familiar with his work. There were exhibited more than 60 works, part of the collection of architect and art collector, Maks Mitrojorgji. The most part of them were draft sketches that showed the preparation and phases that lead to some of his most known works.

This exhibition is part of the exhibition series of “M.A.D Center” that features the works of some of the most famous Albanian painters and art collectors, who possess a far larger number or art pieces than even the Nation Gallery of Arts itself. All this is happening thanks to the unremitting work of professor and art critic Gëzim Qëndro, who is offering to the art-lovers of Tirana and Albania, some of the art never seen before.

Danish Jukniu is one of the best modern painters in Albania. He was born in Shkodër, Albania and he studied from an early age under with the Russia sculptor, painter and Albanian iconography researcher, Viktori Puzanova. Later on he studied in the artistic lyceum “Jordan Misja” in Tirana and further more in the Fine Art Academy in Krakow, Poland, where he finished his studies in the textile performance atelier under the direction of prof. Fancissek Welerowski. In 1959 he returned to Albania and started working as a painter/designer in the textile Combine in Tirana and later on as a professor in the textile atelier in the High Institute of Arts.

Even his artistic growth was so exciting to me. One of the people to address the audience was also Edi Hila, one of the best Albanian painters, now my painting professor, but in his early days, a simple student of Danish Jukniu. He talked on how Danish Jukniu made such a big difference to the Albanian Art and in the Fine Art Academy of Tirana, especially since Albania was at the time under the dictatorial regime and even art was ideologically controlled. It was touching to hear how he had started with opening the windows of the classes, to let light in, turn the dark ateliers into colourful spaces, where even curtain patterns were used to free the mind of the students and introduce them with the reality of life, instead of “still painting” in closed rooms, with heavy dark curtains and artificial lighting. There was an introduction on the nudes work, that was considered a heresy at the time. He influenced in the Academy studios, a Bauhaus inspired artistic movement.

But due to his take on art, modernist and colourful, and his marriage to his biggest love, Polish doctor Danuta, the communist regime was not such a fan of his figure. His merits could not be denied though. As a specialist of the applied art, he created also amazing works of art in the field of tapestry, most of them commissioned by the time authorities. For these and many other works with a more intimate character, unrevealed until 1990, he was awarded with the tittle “Painter of the Nation”. His work has been part of some of the most important national and regional art exhibitions, with an accent on nature paintings and portraits, with well known works like “Elektrifikimi” (“Electrification”), the portrait of J. Keraj, etc. He was also awarded with the “Merited Painter” award. His work is characterised by elegance and a high artistic culture and he has given a great contribution and an outstanding pedagogic thinking to the following generations. He died in Shkodër, in 2003.

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4 of his finished paintings :

1- Shepherds In The Mountains

2- Paintings for Marubis

3- The Students

4- On The Site Of Lightning

1 3 2 Jukniu-2

 

Photography by Eranda Janku, unless otherwise stated

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