Kemil Bekteši (b. 1997) is a Kosovar visual artist of Gorani origin whose artistic practice spans sculpture, installation, food, and drawing. His practice is rooted in personal and family histories, examining how labour, migration, borders, and inherited forms of knowledge shape individual and collective identities. Through installations and performative interventions, he explores the working class, its communities, and forms of solidarity, bridging individual and collective narratives through monumental installations and performative interventions.
He received his MA (2021) and BA (2020) from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, where he was awarded the Golden Badge for Outstanding Academic Achievement. In 2018–19, he studied Contemporary Art at the Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto (Portugal), and in 2023, he participated in the WHW Academy in Zagreb, Croatia. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Zvono (YVAA) Award for Young Visual Artists in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2024, and was a finalist for the Mangelos (YVAA) Award in Belgrade in 2022.
Kemil's work has been presented at numerous institutions, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig (2026), the National Gallery of Kosovo (2025), Die Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, Germany (2024), the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2022), and the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2020). He currently lives and works in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
upcoming: 2027 Una Boccata d’Arte - Torrebruna, Abruzzo (IT)
upcoming: 2027 Museo Lapidarium, Gallery Rigo - NoviGrad (CRO)
upcoming: 2027 Gallery Lazereti - Dubrovnik (CRO)
2026 Shade is Shade is Shelter - Galerija Manuš, Zagreb (CRO)
2025 Slow and Unstoppable - The National Gallery of Kosovo, Prishtina (KS)
2025 Malta - Galerija Manuš, Split (CRO)
2024 250 °C - Galeria17, Prishtina (KS)
2024 Atlatnis: Intermezzo - Atelier Ismet Mujezinović, Tuzla (BIH)
2023 The Favored - Contemporary Gallery Subotica (RS)
2023 At the monument at 7 - Kula Cetinjska, Belgrade (RS)
2022 Etnos and Eros - Dom Omladine, Belgrade (RS)
2021 Making two site-specific wall drawings by Sol LeWitt - Academy of Fine Art Sarajevo (BIH)
2021 Dear Santa Claus - ex Ars Aevi Museum of Contemporary Art, Sarajevo (BiH)
2021 Three rooms and the backyard - Academy of Fine Art Sarajevo (BIH)
2021 Bekteši - Galerija Brodac, Sarajevo (BIH)
upcoming: 2026 Antifascism: Now, A Bird with a Stone Wing - Reporting House, Prishtina (KS)
upcoming: 2026 A Sanctuary of Infinite Patience - AVAN Vila, Tirana (ALB)
2026 Knots of Time - The Museum for Contemporary Art, Leipzig (DE)
2025 SubDokumenta: International Biennale of Visual Arts - Collegium Artisticum, Sarajevo (BIH)
2025 Grids and Islands - RU House, New York City (USA)
2024 Suit of Fire - KRAK, Bihać (BIH)
2024 Gastarbeiter 2.1 - Galerija Manifesto, Sarajevo (BIH)
2024 Question of Belonging - Stakloplan, Belgrade (RS)
2024 Selling Out - Midas, Ljubljana (SLO)
2024 Gastarbeiter 2.0 - nGbK, Berlin (DE)
2023 Demode - SKC, Rijeka (CRO)
2023 POV - Galerija Manifesto, Sarajevo (BIH)
2022 New Wave - Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo (BIH)
2022 Mangelos - Galerija Remont, Belgrade (RS)
2022 Under Your Gaze - U10 Gallery, Belgrade (RS)
2022 Zvono - KRAK, Bihać (BIH)
2022 Ar(t)lantis - Galerija Novembar, Belgrade (RS)
2021 Youth Biennial - Belgrade (RS)
2020 Score #1 Ten ballets (of oscillation) - Historical museum, Sarajevo (BIH)
2026 How to Digest Secrets - Contemporary Art and The Archive, University of Texas Arlington, Dallas (USA)
2026 Kërsteç - Tavolina, Tirana (ALB)
2026 How to Digest Secrets - Vila31 x Art Explora, Tirana (ALB)
2023 Every end is the Beginning and Vice Versa - Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo (BiH)
2021 Art Summer School, 4th edition - Borders and Migrations - Kuma Intrentional, Sarajevo (BiH)
2021 Whimsical city - Ateleir Ismet Mujezinović, Tuzla (BiH)
Upcoming: L'Essenziale Studio No.10 (IT)
Upcoming: MAP005:Leipzig - BFF Editions (BIH)
Upcoming: Wall Painting technologies through time, Đenita Kuštrić (BIH)L'Essenziale Studio No.10 In print
Harpers Bazaar Serbia, 2023. In print
Vanity Fair Italia, 2022. In print
uKONTAKTu, 2023.
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