The heart of the painter from Qeparota, Vangjel Gjikondi, has stopped beating, after a cardiac attack. Friends and family have expressed their condolences for the untimely loss of the artist.
"How much your departure hurts me, Gjikond, I will not be able to accept that you will no longer be there! You were a GIANT in painting even though you were fragile in body, sensitive and a great artist in spirit. You are from Paradise Vangjel Gjikondi, you are gone but you left a lot behind, an empire with pictures, with emotions that will transmit that life, the Vangjel that we knew!" writes the painter Zaim Elezi.
Agron Bejte writes that the physical separation from Gjikondi's life marks a great loss for all those who knew him.
"May the earth rest in peace... you left quickly. I will miss the communication we had built. Goodbye!", he writes.
Architect and artist Arben Bicoku also expressed his condolences for the loss of his colleague.
"Rest in peace Vangjel Gjikondi", he writes.
Vangjel Gjikondi studied at the Academy of Arts during the years 1975-1983, and from this period his works began to stand out. His works are part of the collection of the National Art Gallery (such as Landscape from Tirana, 1983).
He has been active with portraits, landscapes, illustrations, etc., and personal and collective exhibitions in recent years.
The exhibition with 60 works of the history of Skanderbeg from birth to death, held almost 5 years ago in the National Historical Museum, stands out.
A 10-year work that attracted the attention of the public and critics. Gjikondi was one of the most active critical voices especially regarding the management of visual art and exhibition spaces.