On Friday, September 5, from 17:00 PM to 18:00 PM at the 'Marubi' Gallery, a conversation will be held with textile designer Jozef Martini, regarding the exhibition "The Lost Bazaar of Shkodra".
Joseph Martini
In the heart of Shkodra’s historic center is the shop and studio of Jozef Martini, a textile designer whose work connects Albanian tradition with contemporary textile design. Known for his brightly colored compositions and deep cultural references, Martini draws inspiration from the rich heritage of Shkodra’s craftsmanship, transforming it into contemporary works. He graduated from the University of Fine Arts in Tirana in 1988, in the Department of Fashion and Textiles. After a short work experience in Albania, he moved to Italy in 1996.
From his studio in Como, Italy, Martini collaborates with renowned fashion houses. However, his creations remain closely linked to the images, stories and symbols of Albania – and especially to Shkodra, where his roots and family history call. At the core of his practice is the desire to translate the country’s traditional culture into a modern visual language.
This exhibition features jacquard fabric panels woven specifically for this collaboration. Each work explores different threads of memory, identity and 22 reinterpretations, inspired by objects associated with Martin’s ancestor, Palok Lacă, a treatment of objects discovered in the Budapest Museum of Ethnography, as well as historical photographs from the Marubi collection.
The works are produced using mechanical weaving on jacquard fabric based on hand-drawn sketches by Martini, with a keen eye for form, symbolism and colour, elements that define the essence of his textiles. A sensitivity to traditional motifs and materials places Jozef’s work within a long line of Shkodra craftsmanship history, which at the same time also reaches new contemporary visual territory. One of the panels recalls a 19th-century engraving of Rozafa Castle, published in Milan by an Italian traveller. Martini places alongside them abstract metal ornamental objects from the Palok Lacës collection. The central image – reproduced in six-colour jacquard – is outlined by embroidered borders that echo the decorative richness of Albania’s textile heritage. Another panel is dedicated to the men who created traditional embroideries in the workshops of Shkodra’s Old Bazaar. Starting from photographic evidence in the Marubi archive and inspired by the objects of Palok Lacës, Martini develops a series of sketches that shaped this work: a homage to male embroiderers, often overlooked in the history of textiles. The background features carnations, typical flowers of the Shkodra courtyards, evoking both place and memory. Through a mix of mechanical jacquard weaving with experimental photographic prints, the work creates a bridge between historical evidence and contemporary technique.
A third panel is inspired by the traditional japanxha – an embroidered garment from the Palok Lacës collection. Among its motifs, Martini highlights an impressive double-headed eagle, a symbol of Albanian identity, along with snakes and birds. He recreates these motifs in jacquard weave, offering a new interpretation and texture for this rare historical symbol.
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