Eltjon Valle

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Eltjon Valle (born 1984 in Kuçovë, Albania) is an Albanian artist who lives and works in Milan, Italy. He studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2007 and a Master of Fine Arts in 2009.

Life and work:
Valle works mainly with oil paint in a naturalistic style. He creates architectural landscapes, portraits, and site-specific installations. He became one of the best-known artists of his generation while still studying in Milan.

Early work and themes:
Growing up in an industrial town known for petrol, Valle began painting with oil early on and has kept it as his main medium. His early series include The Cursed Writers of the 20th Century (begun 2006) and Flowers (2012). He has also produced works paying homage to fashion. One of his notable bodies are the "land pieces"—artworks made from polluted land collected around Marinz, decorated with butterflies. His work often explores petrol and pollution as forces that shape development, life, and modern landscapes, suggesting that even pollution can have a form of beauty.

Marinz Project:
The Marinz Project is Valle’s major project. It is site-specific and focuses on Marinz, a polluted area near his hometown. Since 2012 he has painted polluted flowers from Marinz and turned polluted land pieces into art by drying and adorning them, bringing attention to pollution as part of nature.

Exhibitions and recognition:
Valle has shown his work in many exhibitions around the world. Highlights include:
- 2014: All About These... Ladies and Gentlemen (Gallery On The Move, Istanbul) and New Contemporaries (Gallery On The Move) and Art Cologne (Germany)
- 2013: Bridge Country (ViennaFair, Vienna); Established and New Entries (MiArt, Milan); Make It Easy Make It Porn (Medellín); The Ice Palace (Pulse, Miami); WonderfulW (Monza)
- 2011: Geopathies (Albanian Pavilion, La Biennale di Venezia) and Talk (Venezia)
- 2009: Così vicina. Così lontana. Arte in Albania; Video Art-It's Liquid (Moscow)
- 2008: Do you know where the paradoxes blossom (Onufri Prize); Marinz (National Gallery of Tirana)
- 2007: Betrayal in Art (Onufri Prize); Petrol Pax (Albanian Pavilion/OFF, La Biennale di Venezia)
- 2006: People & Places (Leonardo Milan Gallery)

External links:
Official website: http://www.eltjonvalle.net/