Hard Teeth (Dhëmbë të Fortë)

Opens Saturday, May 9 Hard Teeth (Dhëmbë të Fortë), is an immersive painting installation, curated by José Esparza Chong Cuy. This new body of work by Milazimi is anchored by a 17-meter-long landscape painting depicting a single line of figures standing closely, one behind the other, across mountains reminiscent of Kosovo’s rural terrain. Echoing the visual language of procession scenes, the work gathers frail bodies that appear to linger in the landscape. Mounted on a self-standing structure designed by LANZA and staged within the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Pianto, the installation invites close looking. The figures persist and wait, with their teeth tightly clenched. What they are waiting for is never named. This suspension of time and destination reflects decades of lived indeterminacy shaped by political transition, contested recognition, and unfinished bureaucracies of sovereignty for Kosovo. Hard Teeth gives form to the physical and psychological strain of endurance without resolution, capturing an atmosphere of feelings. A long line of people swerves across expansive mountains. In Brilant Milazimi’s panoramic painting, the crowd seems to merge with the vast terrain. Echoing historical and contemporary scenes of displacement, the immersive composition depicts frail bodies lingering in the landscape. They patiently wait and stand still. They mark time, but persevere, with their teeth tightly clenched. Waiting is not abstract in Kosovo. For decades, mobility has been determined by the legacy of a brutal war that further confused international borders and resulted in delayed and provisional acknowledgments. This prolonged suspension of time reflects a lived indeterminacy shaped by political transition, contested recognition, and a sovereignty in continued negotiation. Across the globe, the image of the line has returned. People fleeing war. Standing at checkpoints. Waiting for asylum. Waiting to learn whether they will be allowed to stay, whether they will be sent back, whether return is even possible. Milazimi’s new body of work ruminates on the lasting effects of waiting and how they become embedded in the nervous system. When endured over time, an extended deferral can twist the psyche and set false expectations, particularly when what lies ahead is unknown. Brilant Milazimi (b. 1994, Gjilan) translates his perception of the world into images that are at once bitter, tender, darkly humorous, and unsettling. Drawing on the logic of the unconscious and fictional imaginaries, his paintings articulate a sinister yet poetic vision of contemporary life, marked by exaggerated physiognomies, animal presences, and the recurring motif of clenched teeth—symbols through which social tension and unresolved conflict surface. Milazimi studied visual arts at the University of Prishtina. Recent solo exhibitions include Brownie Project Gallery, Shanghai (two-person exhibition, 2025); Storefront Viewing Room, Kurimanzutto, New York (2025); Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art, Prishtina (2024; 2020); LambdaLambdaLambda, Prishtina (2023; 2019); Paul Soto, Los Angeles (2023); LA Maison De Rendez-Vous, Brussels (2022); and Ermes Ermes, Roma (2021). He has participated in major group exhibitions including the 5th Autostrada Biennale, Prizren (2025); Galleria Continua, Paris (2025); Manifesta 14, Prishtina (2022); and the Ludwig Museum, Budapest (2020). In 2020, he received the Young Visual Artist Award in Kosovo, and in 2024 he was a resident at the Art Explora Foundation in collaboration with the Cité internationale des arts, Paris. Commissioner: National Gallery of Kosovo, Hana Halilaj Curator: José Esparza Chong Cuy

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Castello 6601/B, Chiesa di Santa Maria del Pianto

Venice, NY