Painter and professor at the Academy of Arts of Albania. Agim Zajmi is the most highly regarded scenographer in Albanian theater, with more than 300 scenographies. He began his higher studies in painting, scenography and costume design in St. Petersburg, Russia, studies that he completed at the Imperial Academy of Arts of St. Petersburg in 1961. In the same year, he began working as a scenographer at the Opera and Ballet Theater and a little later, he worked mainly at the National Theater of Albania in Tirana. He also frequently worked with the national theaters of Pristina in Kosovo, Skopje in Macedonia and Montenegro. Dean and professor at the Academy of Arts of Albania, in Tirana.
Most of the Albanian and foreign works, put on the stage of the National Theater, are creations of the talented painter and scenographer Agim Zajmi. Agim also did a great job in the field of costume design. As a deep connoisseur of Albanian ethnography, he gave the stage of the National Theater, not only the environments, but also the costumes and various details that filled the stage, giving as much reality as possible to Albanian life. Agim Zajmi has been a professor at the Academy of Arts in Tirana. For decades, he prepared future painters at our Academy of Arts with the patience and simplicity that characterized him. As a painter, he has exhibited his works in France, Italy, England, Greece, Turkey, Austria, etc.
Over 40 years of uninterrupted work and rich creativity, he has realized more than 250 projects in scenography, from national and international dramaturgy, in collaboration with many theaters in the Albanian space, as mentioned above.
He has had the most fruitful collaboration with director Pirro Mani, with over 40 projects. Agim Zajmi is also distinguished as one of the most prominent costume designers of the Albanian theater with over 300 productions, where the design of the costume in relation to the character of the character, time, environment, to the free symbolic and allegorical treatments stands out. His scenography is notable for the new language he brought in the 60s and beyond, with the power of ideas, clear symbolism, epic spirit through a harsh realization (“Qiell i kuq”, “Përkolgjinajt”, “Besa e madhe”, “Përmbytja e madhe”). The elements of expressive forms used by him, allegories, rich in a rich semantics that included the scenographic finding, the treatment of the decorations, costume design, the architectural concept of the theatrical space, light and shadow and colors in the lighting (“Cuca e maleve”, “Fytyra e dytë”, “Arturo Ui”).
Agim Zajmi freed the stage from the overload of descriptive objects from naturalistic scenes, as in the dramas “Këneta”, “Hijet e natë”, “Toka e jonë”, or “Familja e peshkatarit”, where the artist gave more dynamics to the decorations, through contemporary techniques. In addition to scenography and costume design, Agim Zajmi is also distinguished as an easel painter, with many landscapes, compositional tableaux, portraits, etc. From his paintings, we can mention: “Dedë Gjoluli”, “Ganimet Tërbeshi”, “Fushë-Kosovë”, “Vasil Laçi”etc.
Some of the painter’s works are exhibited in the reception hall (for foreign delegations) at the Prime Minister’s Office of Albania. Meanwhile, about 40 paintings and scenography are part of the national fund of the National Gallery of Arts of Albania.
https://www.gazetaexpress.com/
10/02/2023, Express newspaper, Hejza
