Anri Sala

b. 1974, Albanian-German

By Sylvia Walker

November 30, 2020

Anri Sala is a contemporary artist living and working in Berlin, Germany. Sala is primary known for working in film and also works with photography, performance and installation. Born in 1974 in Albania, Anri Sala engages the viewer to take part in his world of cultural observation, in which, often, socio-political settings are used in relation to personal experiences as backdrops.[1]

Portrait of Anri Sala. Photo: Marc Domage / The New York Times.

“Sala’s transformative, time-based works are constructed through multiple relationships between image, architecture and sound, utilizing these as elements to fold, capsize and question experience. His works investigate ruptures in language, syntax, and music in order to validate or invalidate narrative and composition, inviting creative dislocations which generate new interpretations of history, supplanting old fictions with new, less explicit, and less duplicitous ones.”[2]

Since the turn of the millennium, Sala has been dominant on the international art scene. He has had solo and group shows at major institutions such Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Serpentine Galleries, London, United Kingdom; Louisiana Museum of Art, Louisiana, United States of America; KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany; the Dallas Museum of Art, Dalles, United States of America; Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany; Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico; Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv; Museum fur Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt, Germany; The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, United States of America; Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom; Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France; Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy; Aspan Art Museum, Aspen, United States of America; Museo d’Art Conte mporain de Barcelona (MACBA), Barcelona, Spain; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany and more.

In 2014 Sala received the Vincent Award and the Mario Merz Prize, in 2013 he won the 10th Benesse Prize, In 2011 he achieved the Absolute Art Award and in 2001 he won the Young Artist Prize at the Venice Biennale. Sala participated in the 12th Havana Biennial in 2015, the Sharjah Biennial 11 in 2013, the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013, the 9th Gwangju Biennale in 2012, Documenta 13 in 2012, the 29th São Paulo Biennial in 2010, the 2nd Moscow International Biennale of Contemporary Art in 2007 and the 4th Berlin Biennial in 2006. Sala is collected by major institutions such as Tate Modern, London and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York. His works have been reviewed by major art publications such as Artforum, Frieze, The Guardian, Art in America and Flash Art. The Albanian artist is ranked as number forty in the top 100 artists globally list and top 10 in Albania of Artfacts. As a result, he is featured in our article The Most Influential Young Artists Today.[3][4]

Artworks

Anri Sala, As you go, 2019. 13-Channel HD video and 22-channel discrete sound installation — variable dimensions. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth. / Photo: Antonio Maniscalco.

Anri Sala, The Last Resort, 2017. 2-channel sound installation including 38 altered snare drums, loudspeaker parts, snare stands, drumsticks, soundtrack and 4 speakers; 58 min. 28 sec. — 850 cm diameter / 334 3/5 in diameter. Courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery.

Anri Sala, Having landed , 2016. Marble inlays on a white wooden pedestal – marble: cm 25 x 25 x 25 – pedestral: cm 25 x 25 x 63. Courtesy of Alfonso Artiaco.

Anri Sala, Untitled (d’après Cézanne), 2015. C print on Dibond – 65 1/2 × 86 in / 166.4 × 218.4 cm. Edition of 5 + 2AP. Courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery.

Anri Sala, The hand of god, 2008. Sanded glass, customised iron support that traces the ball’s trajectory, 15 statues, 4 lights, color filters – 23 3/5 × 82 7/10 × 51 1/5 in / 60 × 210 × 130 cm. Edition of 3. Courtesy of Alfonso Artiaco.

Anri Sala, Untiltled (kiosque), 2006. Colour photo on baryt paper – 34 3/10 × 50 in / 87 × 127 cm. Edition edition2/2AP + 0AP. Courtesy of Alfonso Artiaco.

Anri Sala, Light pushing #2, 2002. Black and white photograph on baryta paper — 49.5 × 60.5 cm / 19 1/2 × 23 4/5 in. Courtesy of Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris.

Anri Sala, Untitled, 2001. Black/white photograph on baryte paper – 43 1/4 × 63 in / 109.9 × 160 cm. Edition 1/5. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth.

Notes:

[1] Hauser & Wirth, Anri Sala at https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/2802-anri-sala consulted 18/09/2020.
[2] Marian Goodman, Anri Sala at https://www.mariangoodman.com/artists/60-anri-sala/ consulted 18/09/2020.
[3] Artfacts, Anri Sala at https://artfacts.net/artist/anri-sala/7561 consulted 30/11/2020.
[4] Ibid. note 2.

Last Updated on May 2, 2023

Sylvia Walker

Sylvia Walker (b. 1986, US) is an art historian, essayist, art critic, and curator. After contributing to numerous publications, and curating exhibitions in the United States of America and beyond, she currently works as the assistant director of Contemporary Art Issue (CAI).

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