Anila Rubiku. Endje: Wander-Weaving

Assab One is pleased to present Endje: Wander-Weaving, a solo exhibition dedicated to the artist Anila Rubiku curated by Edi Muka.
Drawing on the dual meanings of the Albanian word "Endje", which signifies both weaving and wandering, Rubiku invites visitors to experience her visionary blend of craft, storytelling, and social commentary.

Rubiku's practice embodies this concept of "wander-weaving", intertwining the physical act of weaving with the free, exploratory nature of wandering. Her extensive body of work spans a variety of mediums and themes—from poetry and gender relations to social justice and the perception of time—each piece reflecting aspects of her own life journey. Yet, the needlework remains a constant to which she returns throughout her work, weaving together and giving body to her past and present experience.

Two evocative and wide-ranging projects inhabit the space. Ain't I a Woman? pays tribute to women pioneers and, through a collaboration with Romani women in Durrës, Albania, highlights struggles shared by women across generations. In an act of acknowledgement and giving back, Anila embroidered 150 handkerchiefs with their names, celebrating their often-overlooked contributions throughout history. The project continues to evolve and grow, adding new names at each new iteration. Instead, The Inner Door is an abstract exploration of form, color, and texture. The work, inspired by the inner doors of Milanese residential buildings, offers a poetic meditation on the concept of "home" and transforms the artist's wanderings into a visual language. Each piece invites the viewer to step through these "inner doors," into Anila Rubiku's threaded world, where the boundaries of architecture and emotion blur into a delicate tapestry of memories and experience.
At last, Defiants' Portraits #1-12, presented as an appendix to the exhibition in the Sala Roland within the former control cabin of the printing machines, addresses the social issue of women victims of domestic violence. Realised together with a group of female inmates in a Tirana prison, the works on display are meant to be an act of denunciation of the lack of protection for vulnerable groups of women and the absence of legal defence.

Anila Rubiku (Durres, Albania, 1970) lives and works between Milan (IT), Toronto (CAN) and Durres (AL).
Rubiku's practice is unique; her work doesn't fit comfortably within any genre of art. Her diverse series of work over the past two decades are united by a preoccupation with process: she develops new techniques and methodologies to execute every work with absolute creative control and the highest degree of craftsmanship. Each new series is vastly different than the last, and Rubiku moves seamlessly from medium to medium, mastering form without being defined by any singular style. Rubiku's practice lies somewhere at the learning and obsession, to gender inequality and social injustice (Vierzon Biennale 2022, Havana Biennial, 2019, 5th Thessaloniki Biennial, 2015), which touches on environmental issues (Kiev Biennale, 2012) and relational (56th October Salon, Beograd 2016), reflecting on the meaning of being an immigrant today (Biennale di Venezia 2011, Hammer Museum residency, LA, 2013) and on the relationship between city and democracy (Vierzon Biennale 2022 and Venice Architecture Biennale, 2008). Her work is part of the following private and public collections: Frac Centre-Val De Loire, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; Mint Museum, Charlotte NC; Israeli Museum, Jerusalem. National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington DC). She was nominated in 2014, by the Human Rights Foundation for her social commitment and was selected as one of the top Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy Magazine.

Edi Muka is an Albanian curator and writer. He's known for introducing the curatorial practices for the first time in Albania, as well as for his contribution to the Albanian contemporary art and culture scene. Over the years, Muka has worked for or led many institutions. He's been adjunct professor at the AFA Tirana, director of the International Center of Culture, curator of the National Gallery Tirana, co-founder and director of the Tirana Biennial and of Tirana Institute of Contemporary Art, curator of Röda Sten Art Center and artistic director of the Gothenburg Biennial. Muka has established and curated numerous exhibitions and projects, among others the first International Award Onufri in Tirana, the first Albanian Pavilion in the Venice Biennale, the Gothenburg Biennale and the Medellin Quadrennial for Contemporary Art.
Since 2014, Muka has been curator at the Public Art Agency Sweden. His work is of international scope and builds on close relationships with the artists.

Assab One is a not-for-profit organization founded by Elena Quarestani with the aim of providing artists with a non- conventional environment for research and expression and giving the public the opportunity of getting closer to the artistic process in a context that stimulates dialogue. Assab One produces and promotes exhibitions, events and art projects focusing on initiatives that integrate different languages capable of reaching beyond the art world.
For further information: info@assab-one.org +39 02 2828546