Gazmend Freitag, Linz, 2015

Gazmend Freitag Biography Gazmend Freitag was born on 25 May 1968 in Pataqani i Poshtëm, Kosovo. At the time his

father Asllan had emigrated and was working in Lyon, France. Though his mother Qamile

could barely read and write, she is described as a generous, endearing and good-hearted

woman. She gave birth to five boys, of which Gazmend is the middle child. Her heart’s desire

was for her children to receive a formal education, so she made sure they were in school and

studying.

Even as a child Gazmend demonstrated a talent for drawing, though in school he devoted

himself to literature. His family did not consider art and literature of importance and did not

support his talents. His drawings, while adorning the walls of his primary school, attracted no

particular attention. The first recognition of Gazmend’s abilities was for one of his poems,

which was ranked third in Kosovo and published in “Rilindja për Fëmijë”, a children’s section

published every Tuesday by the Kosovar daily newspaper “Rilindja”.

After graduation in 1987 Gazmend started studying law in Pristina. The same year he was

called up for military service before continuing his studies in 1988. After two semesters at the

University of Pristina access was closed to Albanians by the Serbian authorities. Student

protests followed in 1989. Some participants paid with their lives while others were arrested

or prosecuted, among them Gazmend, who saw himself forced to emigrate from Kosovo.

Arriving in Germany, he sought an artist’s life, a decision he took against the wishes of his

parents, who had wanted him to become a lawyer. He fell in love with Kristin, a German girl

five years his junior, and they got married. Together they had three daughters, whom he calls

„Angels on Earth’“.

Between 1990 and 2013 Gazmend attended courses in oil portrait painting at different

academies. 2013 he began to study figure drawing at the University of Linz with Professor

Anneliese Oberdanner, a well-known expert in her field.

His work is traditional in nature and is centered around autobiographical elements,

landscapes from the country of his birth, portraits of different people, memories from his

childhood, nudes and figure drawings, still lifes and other subjects. He prefers drawing with

pencils, chalk and ink as well as oil paintings on canvas.

Since 2004 he is living in Linz, Upper Austria. His work has been seen in Austrian and

International exhibitions and art fairs.

www.gazmendfreitag.net