Shefqet Avdush Emini is an internationally recognized artist born in Kosovo who studied art in Pristina and now lives in the Netherlands. He had two solo exhibitions in 2011, one at the Diversity & Art gallery in Amsterdam from September to October displaying his paintings and sculptures. The second was at the city hall of The Hague organized by the Kosovo embassy in November. Emini creates multi-interpretable works using various mediums that explore themes of people, roots, and traditions and draw from Dutch masters and his own experiences living between cultures.

1. Amsterdam, November 2011, Ina Eskes MA of Art history
Shefqet Avdush Emini
Shefqet Avdush Emini, an international recognized artist, is born in Davidovc in Kosovo on 2
June 1957. He studied Visual Arts as a young man at the Art Academy in Pristina (Kosovo)
and worked, after finishing his education, as an artist and art teacher in several towns in
Kosovo. Since two decennia, when war broke out in Kosovo, Shefqet Avdush Emini is living
in the Netherlands, together with his family. As an artist and art teacher he is able to live and
work all over the world, though he always will be connected with his roots to Kosovo. In
several works of his hand you will be able to discover these roots and his mixed feelings of
living abroad. Shefqet Avdush Emini is an academically educated artist who developed his
own style, his own ‘signature’, which made him famous. The list of exhibitions of his
artworks in museums and art galleries worldwide is long. Besides, he is regular invited to join
art symposia where local and international artist do come together to create art and get
inspired. Shefqet is also connected to the Filarski Academy, a private Academy in The
Netherlands founded by the artist Marian Filarski, as a teacher for master classes in painting.
In 2011 Shefqet Avdush Eminihas been asked to present his artworks (paintings and
sculptures) in two separate solo-exhibitions in the Netherlands, the first one took place in

2. Amsterdam, the second one in Den Hague. These two exhibitions will be presented in this
review.
Exhibition paintings and sculptures at gallery Diversity & Art, Amsterdam
2 September 2011- 1 October 2011
Gallery Diversity & Art, an intimate gallery located in the old heart of Amsterdam, is founded
by Liesbeth Schreve-Brinkman, after a meeting with AIDA the Netherlands, an organization
which does advise artists after they did leave or escape their countries for reasons like war,
politic, or censure. Diversity & Art gives these artists an exhibition platform. The selection of
artists takes place in cooperating with AIDA the Netherlands. Diversity & Art gives excess to
all kind of genres of artists with their own cultural background. The mission of Art &
Diversity is to show and share these artworks to public, to increase our idea of art in cultural
diversity. From the 2nd
of September till the 1ste of October paintings and sculptures made of
baked bronze varnish clay of Shefqet Avdush Emini have been presented for public. This
exhibition was officially opened by René Mendel, director of Interact; a Film Production
Company for television and multimedia. As a filmmaker of a television program of ‘portraits’
of artists René Mendel pointed out the influence of the public opinion by media, and how
appreciation for artists can be achieved. Art itself can influence a person as well of course, at
several levels. Diversity & Art wants to make visual, mental and social contact possible
between artist, art and public, to achieve a better intercultural understanding of art. Shefqet’
artwork is about people. You can ask yourself for example: who are these people? Are they
friends, family, anomies, or memories of people of the past, of Kosovo? And what is going on
in their minds?

3. Photo: opening exhibition Diversity & Art, Amsterdam, September 2011.
Solo-exhibition in the Atrium of the city hall of Den Hague, organized by the embassy of
Kosovo in Den Hague

4. Photo: opening exhibition in the Atrium, city hall of Den Hague, November 2011. On the
right hand side: Shefqet Avdush Emini, in the middle: Mr. Ehsan, manager international sales
Ikea the Netherlands, on the left hand side: Shefqet’daughter.
Photo: opening exhibition in the Atrium, city hall Den Hague, November 2011.
His ArtShefqet Avdush Emini is an all-round artist who creates baked bronze varnish clay
sculptures, drawings and last but not least paintings. In both exhibitions there have been
presented several paintings of his hand. Having a look at these paintings means to make a
mental journey on many levels. His style of painting, the compositions he makes, the way he

5. is using colors in combination with his compositions, the way is using paint itself as a
material (oil on canvas, acryl on canvas), and the stories he want to tell. His painted portraits
and figures do often not have titles, which mean that Shefqet gives you a change to make up
your own thoughts and feelings. It also gives you an opportunity to travel away in time or
place. Sometimes his work might remind you to one of the famous girls of the Dutch master
Vermeer, to Mozart, to people in pain, or grieve, people coming from Kosovo, coming from
wherever? All kind of moods do come along your eyes and thoughts. His paintings are multi-
interpretable. Like they want to tell you something about the past and the present. Besides this
you can notice Shefqet’ energy while painting, using his paintbrush as a medium for his own
inner world. He is a painter with flair, which can be interpreted as (abstract) expressionism,
and gives in combination with his classical touch a very interesting and lively result. You can
also notice Shefqet’ knowledge of the Dutch masters like Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh
and the Cobra group, like Corneille for example. In Shefqet ’art is a colorful world of people,
roots, moods, tradition, and life coming together.
Untitled: oil on canvas, 40 x 50. 2007

6. Untitled: oil on canvas, 54 x 54. 2010
Acryl on canvas: 100 x 150. 2011
Website: http://www.shefqet.com Email: Shefqet_emini@hotmail.com