MUNTHE ART MONDAY: DËNALISA SHIJAKU

Instagram: @denalisa.shijaku

Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do.

Hi, my name is Dënalisa Shijaku and I am an artist. I have Albanian roots, have lived in Germany for 30 years and in Berlin since 2017. Here is my studio that I visit every day.

Could you explain more about how being a woman has affected your career?

Being a woman plays a very big role in my career, as I often use it in my artwork - both color-wise and aesthetically. My artwork often reflects my femininity. I love being a woman and live it out in all its facets. My art is often the counterpart to my clothing style: Colorful. Bold. Oversized – like my favorite hats.

Can you name some other female (artist) that inspires you and explain why they do so?

There are many, but to only name a few: Atusa Jafari, Flaka Haliti, Moshtari Hilal, Helen Frankenthaler. But Hilma Af Klint inspires me the most. She has managed to look at the universe from a different perspective - over 100 years ago. That way her spectacular late abstract works were created. I feel that when I paint, I also connect to another dimension. I let my emotions run free and experience a unique expansion of consciousness in a sober state.

What has been the most challenging aspect of being a female artist?

The biggest challenge is probably to be taken seriously. Whether in the „real“ art scene or in the "social media" art scene. Not to be limited to one's appearance, although I like to identify with my art and show this to the world. I do not want to stand behind my works, but next to them.

What would you like people to notice in your artwork?

I wish that people do not feel excluded from my absurdly surreal fantasy but embraced forever. That they get a feeling of home.

Dënalisa is wearing our JAKETTA blazer with matching JILAV pants, and the DISTANT dress in blue.