Ornela VorpsiAlbania

Ornela Vorpsi (b. 1968 in Tirana, AL) is a multidisciplinary artist who explores human experience through literature, painting, and photography. 

Her artistic journey began with painting, which has remained a crucial form of expression throughout her career. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana and the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan. Vorpsi’s work in visual arts includes participation in key exhibitions, such as those curated by Paul Ardenne (2008) and the Venice Biennale (2016), where she exhibited photography and text alongside renowned artists like Anri Sala and Etel Adnan. She has received numerous prestigious awards and fellowships, including the DAAD (in literature, 2010), Villa Kujoyama (in photography, 2011), and the Cité Internationale des Arts (in painting, 2012). Around 2000, she embraced photography, gaining significant recognition. Her monograph Nothing Obvious was published in collaboration with editor Walter Keller (2001), and in 2010, she exhibited at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, curated by Jean-Luc Monterosso. Her works are part of the FNAC collection in France.

Born in Albania, her migrations to Italy and France have led her to adopt three different working languages. Writing in these foreign languages posed significant challenges, yet her works have been translated into 22 languages, gaining international recognition. She is celebrated as one of the thirty-five best voices in European literature and one of the top twenty-five voices in Italian literature.