Agron Hoti Albania, b. 1970

Agron Hoti began his artistic career while studying at the classical high school. At the age of 14 he already participated in his first exhibition, receiving two awards (sculpture and oil on canvas). Despite having won the competition to enter the Tirana art school, he was then disqualified for political reasons due to the communist period that his native country was going through.

After the fall of the Berlin wall, like so many of his compatriots, Agron Hoti, in five days and amidst numerous difficulties, crossed the Greek border and arrived in Athens in January 1992. in the Hellenic capital, the artist opened his first studio and for ten years he worked on byzantine sculptures and icons.

In 2001 he crossed the Otranto canal with a clandestine motorboat and arrived in Italy, settling in Verona, where he can still boast an art studio and a gallery in one of the most beautiful areas of the city.

Over the years Agron Hoti has exhibited his works in Turin, Milan and Venice, also establishing himself internationally with a series of exhibitions in New York, Paris, Shanghai, Casablanca and Tel Aviv. He worked with Philippe Daverio in Milan before the art critic’s death and received the homage in his homeland from the national gallery in Tirana, as well as being the only foreign artist who exhibits a work in the German parliament.

In 2019 the central court of the Foro Italico in Rome became a gigantic canvas for the first time thanks to the "EXXTRA" project on the occasion of the "Night of the Kings" match. Agron Hoti created a work of art of 800 square meters and, immediately after the game, the canvas was divided into individual paintings which were sold during a special VIP event organized by Christie's, and the proceeds were donated to charity.

In June 2020, in the splendid setting of the Verona arena, the 'Eclissi' artistic event took place. in this metaphorical lockdown represented precisely by the eclipse, cinema, painting and music were combined with a live performance by the Albanian artist who was the backdrop to Benny Benassi's djset. Agron Hoti spread a huge white square canvas on the sand of the arena, which was then covered in black to obtain a sphere in the centre that acted as a contrast, a clear reference to the eclipse. The artist then intervened with the energy of his gestures and the power of colour, creating an artistic work of a total size of about 400 square meters, from which about 140 individual pieces were subsequently obtained.