Visual Art Practice
Allowing being and becoming to intertwine—to cohere chaos into form—creativity turns into a process of deliberate living. In the convergence of concept and material, gesture and thought, there unfolds a sacred dialogue: the self in communion with the world.
Each stage of creative endeavour is a threshold of both reflection and discovery. In every occurrence, the self does not simply express—it transfigures. Through practice, transformation reveals itself. Art becomes both mirror and vessel, echoing the unspoken realms of inner experience.
Artistic inquiry is inborn philosophical action. It is not analysis for its own sake, but the forging of new understanding. Through investigation, language evolves—visual, symbolic, and intuitive—becoming an instrument of the psyche. It expands where words fracture, giving form to what lies beneath surface. Every work emerges not as statement, but as invocation—a spiritual presence grounded in matter.
Interpretation, then, is a ritual of unveiling. Hidden truths reside not only in symbols but in the act of symbolic engagement. In this movement, the “I” dissolves and reappears—it is subject and object, singular and collective, entangled within unfolding formations of meaning.
Aesthetic form is never the endpoint. I resist the reduction of art to be only a beautiful object for appreciation. I feel my works meaning as same as Aristotle felt about tragedy—opportunities to encounter deeper selves, dormant myths, ancestral whispers—not as destinations. I want them to provoke remembrance, to initiate inner processes. I want them to invite the viewer to participate in exploring their inner world, either individually or collectively.
This is my art-praxis: art as alchemical process, where raw matter carries psychic intent. And to draw nearer to authenticity—not as finality, but as an ever-expanding horizon.

Kristian Zara (b. 1986, Elbasan, Albania) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work interlaces memory, materiality, and philosophical inquiry. Born into a politically persecuted family, his early experiences instilled a sensitivity to inherited trauma and the complexities of collective memory—layers that continue to inform his artistic vocabulary.
Zara’s ancestry traces back to communities of shepherds and wool workers who lived along the mountainous borders of southern Albania and northern Greece. He grew up bilingual, speaking both Albanian and Vlach (Aromanian), a minority Romance language that shaped his early reflections on identity, language, and cultural continuity.
In 2014, Zara moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, where he balanced working in kitchen chef with creative production. In 2016, he earned a second Master’s degree in Art, Society, and Publics at the University of Dundee, combining artistic research with creative writing.
This period marked a conceptual shift—deepening his engagement with theory, symbolism, and the alchemical process of making.
In 2000, Zara began formal training in drawing and painting at the artistic high school in Elbasan. When he was not accepted at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana, he left Albania and relocated to Athens. There, in 2006, he enrolled in the Athens School of Fine Arts, where he was awarded an Integrated Master’s Degree in painting, sculpture, stage design, and photography.
Athens became a crucible of development—artistically, philosophically, and personally. Zara engaged in exhibitions, workshops, political activism, and stage design, including work with the National Opera of Greece. Alongside his practice, he taught art and supported himself through hospitality work. The city became a meeting point of aesthetic immersion and critical introspection, sparking the beginning of what he describes as a “slow crystallization” of his inner language.
While in Scotland, Zara curated open calls for artists, managed community art projects, worked in sculpture studios, and wrote for exhibitions of emerging practitioners. His work continued to exist between practical labour and intellectual exploration, reinforcing his commitment to art as both praxis and philosophical path.
Since returning to Elbasan in 2018, Zara has continued to develop projects at the intersection of history, place, and symbolic transformation. His 2024 sculptural installation The Present Past, exhibited at the former political prison of Spaç—where his grandfather was imprisoned—represents a seminal moment in his journey.
Guided by Jungian thought, psychoanalysis, and alchemical symbolism, Zara’s practice is both investigative and intuitive. Whether working with materials, language, or space, he seeks to transmute lived and inherited experience into forms of meaning—quietly, insistently, and always in pursuit of deeper truth.
Experiences
Art Teaching, Mentoring, Curating, Wood and Metal Working, Sculptural Installation, Stage/Scenic Production Desing, Project Writing/Coordinating, Silicone/Latex/Mixed Media Production.
Selected Exhibitions
Solo
2024 – Përbrenda/Inward, Gallery of Art Tirana
2024 – E Kaluara e Tashme/The Present Past, Former Political Prison of Spaç, Mirdita (Permanent Installation)
2023 – Unknown Collective, TE’Galeria, Tirana
2021 – Inner States, Argonaut Art Factory, Tirana
2017 – MFA Show, University of Dundee, Scotland
Group
2022 – Salloni i Vjeshtës – Gallery of Arts Shkodra
2021 – RiArt, TE’Galeria, Tirana
2021 – Colours of Politics, Argonaut Art, Factory, Tirana
2019 – Biennale of Self-portrait, National Museum in Tirana
2018 – Identity, St Margarete’s House Edinburgh
2018 – Polyphonic Murders, Public Space (Unit 2) Ocean Terminal Edinburgh
2016 – Across Mediterranean, Syn Festival Edinburgh