Xhovalin Delia


Xhovalin Delia is an Albanian Italian artist, painter, film director and writer from Pukë, Albania who lives in Florence, Italy.

Career

Xhovalin Delia is an Albanian–Italian painter, film director, and writer. He lives and works in Florence

Biography

After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana, Delia began his career as a set designer and animator at the Albanian Central Film Studio, producing several animated films.
One of them, Chi lo merita, received the third national prize in Albania and a special award at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France.
Alongside his work in cinema, Delia exhibited paintings. At the National Gallery of Arts in Tirana he presented Primavera, considered the first artwork depicting a female nude ever shown in Albania during the communist regime.
In 1992 he moved to Italy, settling in Florence, where he continued his artistic, cinematic, literary, and journalistic activities. In Florence, his artistic language developed into a distinctive style, referred to as "Delia’s style".

Awards and recognition

  • 1990 – Third national prize at the Festival of Animated Film.
  • 1992 – Special award at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
  • 2013 – First prize “Lorenzo il Magnifico” at the IX Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art, with the multimedia work Big Bang.
  • 2015 – Special award at the Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art.
  • 2016 – Special award in Monte Carlo.
  • 2018 – First prize at the International Art Competition in Palermo.
  • 2025 - Second PRIZE "Lorenzo il Magnifico" at the XV Florence Biennale of contemporary Art with "My Florence" mixmedia

Exhibitions

Delia has participated in exhibitions and art events in Italy and abroad, including the Florence Biennale, the Milan Biennale, the Rome Triennale, Monte Carlo, and the Louvre in Paris.
He is also listed among the participating artists at the XV Florence Biennale scheduled for October 2025.
His studio-gallery, located in the historic center of Florence, also hosts solo and collective exhibitions of contemporary art.

Main works

Animated films

Chi lo merita.

Short films

Il passaporto.
  • Other minor works.

Contemporary art

Primavera. La mia Firenze.
  • Other paintings and installations.

Postmodern art

Big Bang.

Literary works

Venere, novel, Dituria, 2005. God Bless America, novel, Dituria, 2009.
  • Numerous articles and essays on art, culture, and politics.