Agim Sulaj
About
Agim Sulaj is an Albanian painter, illustrator, and cartoonist born on September 6, 1960, in Tirana, Albania, where he spent his early years before moving to the coastal city of Vlora during childhood and adolescence. He displayed artistic talent from a young age and won his first special award at age 19 in 1979 at the traditional satire and humor competition of the magazine 'Hosteni'. Sulaj graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts (also referred to as the University of Arts) in Tirana in 1985, after which he worked at 'Hosteni' producing illustrations, caricatures, and developing a hyperrealistic painting style alongside satirical works addressing social and political issues.
Hyperrealistic with surreal, satirical elements focusing on social, political, and environmental themes
Selected Exhibitions
- National Gallery in Tirana (1986)
- Rally di Rimini (1993)
- Derwent Art Prize (2016)
- Galleries in Italy, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Paris, Oxford, London, Kruishoutem
Awards
- Special award, Hosteni magazine competition (1979)
- First prize, Balkan Cartoon Prize 'Man and Environment', Seres, Greece (1988)
- Special prize, Aydin Dogan International Cartoon Competition, Ankara, Turkey (1990)
- Grand Prix, Cartoon Sea, Fano, Italy (2010)
- First prize, Salon International du Cartoon and Caricature, Vianden, Luxembourg (2012)
- 3rd Derwent Art Prize (2016)
- First prize, International Caricature Festival, Piracicaba, Brazil
- Awards in Knokke Heist, Kruishoutem (Belgium), Pristina, Norway, Turkey