Adrian Paci's Intensity: Art, Migration, and the Poetics of the Void

Adrian Paci (Scutari, 1969) is the subject of an in-depth profile by Stefania Gaudiosi on Artribune, exploring the artist's rare intensity and political resonance. Gaudiosi draws on a 2019 interview with late critic Lea Vergine, who praised Paci's rarity among contemporary artists and described his work as 'also' political. Paci's practice spans video, painting, sculpture, and mosaic, often addressing migration, memory, and the human condition. Key works include 'Centro di permanenza temporanea' (2007), filmed at San Jose Airport in California, showing migrants on an airplane staircase waiting for repatriation; 'The Column' (2013), tracing a marble block from China to Europe; and 'Compito#1' (2022), a mosaic floor based on notebooks from a guest of the Comunità di Sant'Egidio. A new exhibition, 'Dancers and Mourners,' opens November 24 at Kaufmann Repetto gallery in Milan, featuring paintings derived from video stills of Albanian weddings and rituals. Paci's work is characterized by a search for intensity—a non-measurable quality that transcends narrative and invites wonder. The profile emphasizes Paci's use of fiction as a tool to reveal reality, and his ability to transform pain into song.