→ ESTATE

Liljana Çefa

(b. 1940)

Tirana, Albania

THE ARTIST

Liljana Çefa was born in 1940 in Tirana and currently lives and works in Shkodër. Her passion for art was nurtured by her father, her primary school teachers, and her uncle Loro Kovaçi, who encouraged her to pursue art seriously. This support led her to the Artistic Lyceum in Tirana, where she studied under noted teachers such as Kel Kodheli, Vilson Kilica and Abdurrahim Buza, and was part of an inspiring community of fellow painters.

After graduating from the Artistic Lyceum, she enrolled in the Higher Institute of Arts in Tirana. She was the first woman to enroll in the painting department of Albania’s Higher Institute of Arts, from which she graduated in 1966. After graduation, she returned to Shkodër, where she met her future husband. His support allowed her to fully devote herself to her art, as he helped with household responsibilities and childcare. Upon retiring at age 50, Çefa dedicated even more time to painting, teaching children’s classes, and working in her home studio. She chose to retain her maiden name, Çefa, in honour of her father’s wish for the family name to continue.

During the Communist regime in Albania, the art system was tightly controlled by state institutions, including the League of Artists and Writers, of which Çefa was a member. Most of her significant works were created before 1990, shaped by Socialist Realist themes that were largely dictated by the ideology of the time. However, within these constraints, she maintained her unique perspective, focusing on female figures as her main subjects, whether they represented mothers, fighters, or workers. These characters were part of compositions addressing themes required by the League of Artists and Writers, and her works were exhibited in group shows, mainly in Tirana, with some becoming part of the state collection.

During the dictatorship years, being a painter was challenging, as artistic themes were dictated by government agencies, often focusing on nationalistic or ideological subjects. The League of Artists and Writers would issue brochures with topics on which artists were required to create works that would later be displayed in group exhibitions. Like many others, Çefa followed these guidelines, creating compositions that adhered to the principles of Socialist Realism, while also attempting to insert her personal approach wherever possible. The state’s control over artistic expression was rigorous: a government commission would visit artists in their studios during the creative process, directing them on how their work should align with suggested themes and the ideological principles dictated by the party. This committee, typically composed of bureaucrats with little connection to the art world, had significant influence over artists’ work.

Çefa recalls an episode in which she was painting a young girl sewing a flag, using herself as a model and wearing traditional clothing from her mother-in-law. The commission insisted that she raise the girl’s head in the painting to convey pride. Although Çefa made the required adjustments, she felt the revised version lacked authenticity. After the dictatorship ended, she recreated her original vision of the painting, which is now part of the collection at the Shkodër City Gallery.

Çefa recalls that painting and drawing have been lifelong pursuits, beginning with oil colours on board and canvas, and later transitioning to coloured pencils on paper, a medium she found easier to manage due to an eye condition she has had since childhood.

Before creating a large composition, Çefa would conduct extensive preparatory studies, producing sketches and drawings of her primary subjects from real life. These preparatory works now make up most of her remaining estate. Despite state-dictated themes, her primary inspiration has always been children, followed later by nature. Portraits of children dominate her pre-1990s works, where she found subjects in her own children, their friends, and cousins.

Several works by Çefa are part of the collection of the National Gallery of Arts in Tirana. Among them is The Children in the Museum (1974), a piece representative of her work during the 1970s and early 1980s. She spent about three months creating this painting, beginning with numerous detailed sketches and studies for each child depicted, all based on real sitters, including her son and his peers. The painting shows a teacher with a group of first-graders during a visit to the National War of Liberation pavilion at a history museum. While the museum setting in the painting is imagined, it references actual museums of the era in Shkodër and the Historical Museum in Tirana. The work captures an interesting moment in how history is conveyed and reflects the creation and preservation of collective memory.

Çefa participated in numerous exhibitions, and several of her works were acquired by the state, with some included in the collections of the National Gallery of Art and the Shkodër City Gallery. However, many of her works on canvas, which were distributed to state institutions across Albania, were lost after the 1990s. After the fall of communism, she often sold her works at low prices due to the country’s economic hardships. In 2022, her work The Children in the Museum (1974) was shown again at the exhibition Ambitions at the National Gallery of Arts in Tirana and the National Gallery of Kosovo. The exhibition, co-curated by Adela Demetja, marked a renewed focus on Çefa’s history and artistic practice, which Demetja is researching and promoting further.

THE ESTATE

Liljana Çefa’s estate, located in Shkodër, is currently managed by her son, Andi Hila, who is also a visual artist. These preparatory works now make up most of her remaining estate. Although she retains many pieces in her private collection, mainly works on paper, her most significant paintings are untraceable. Her private collection also includes numerous self-portraits created throughout different periods of her life.

Text by Adela Demetja