Hidden in Plain Sight - is the first monograph on the multivalent Kosovar artist Driton Selmani. Reflected in the book's title, this comprehensive publication highlights Kosovo and Kosovar artists hidden in plain sight. The publication is the result of intense research, which is richly illustrated and designed to trace the artistic career of Selmani. The book encompasses sketches, photography, site-specific installation, sculpture, video art, and performance with detailed documentation of his exhibitions creating a publication that will serve simultaneously as an archive, a handbook, and a reference on Selmani as well as contemporary art from Prishtina, Kosovo placing it in the geo-political context.

Edited by Lora Sariaslan, who apart from envisioning the book, wrote the most comprehensive text on the artist to date, through an interdisciplinary approach positioning him in art history. Professor at the University of Prishtina anthropologist Nita Luci and sociologist, activist, and lecturer at the University of Prishtina Linda Gusia has jointly contributed a specially commissioned text focusing on the Kosovar nature of Selmani’s art. Curator and director of the ULAY Foundation (Ljubljana / Amsterdam) Hana Ostan Ožbolt wrote about curating Selmani’s exhibition in Ljubljana highlighting the international cultural cooperation prevalent in Selmani’s work.

The richly illustrated book designed by Nita Salihu Hoxha — Studio Permanent traces Selmani’s artistic journey through his drawings, sketches, and site-specific installations, along with detailed documentation of his exhibitions resulting in an English publication that acts simultaneously as an archive, a handbook, and reference on Selmani as well as contemporary art from Kosovo and the wider region of the Balkans.

Publication Concept and Editor

Lora Sariaslan

Contributing Authors

Linda Gusia, Nita Luci, Hana Ostan Ožbolt, Lora Sariaslan

Design

Nita Salihu Hoxha — Studio Permanent

Copy-editing and proofreading

Lora Sariaslan

Translation of Abécédaire (Albanian-English)

Alexandra Channer

Published by

Sbunker, Prishtina

Printing and binding

Shtypshkronja, Prizren Edition of 500 copies

Made possible thanks to the generous support of the Municipality of Prishtina & READ-Regional Network for Cultural Diversity - Funded by the European Union. ©
2021 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without permission from its authors.