By Benedetta Checcarelli
We are in Pjeter’s workshop, in Camucia di Cortona; As soon as we cross the threshold of his ‘world’ we find ourselves immersed and surrounded by sculptures of all kinds, furnishing accessories, unique pieces and splendid paintings. We are in the home of a true artist. He invites us to sit around a table of his own, made of solid oak wood, as he begins to tell us his story.
Pjeter was born and raised in Albania, graduating from the Marubi Academy of Photography in Scutari. His profession as a photographer, which preceded that of a craftsman, made him connect more deeply with nature and landscape, a fundamental starting point for his current works. During his working period, in 1997, due to the political pressure of the communist regime, he decided to go to Italy with his family; after moving from Bari to Milan, passing through Florence, he finally arrived in Tuoro sul Trasimeno, in Umbria, where he settled permanently.
Although he began, almost immediately, to make furnishing objects, he initially specialized in the maintenance of iron and steel for commercial and residential structures (emphasizing the fatigue of these tasks). In 2006 he founded his first workshop in partnership with his brother Anton, which was later joined by his wife Nora, author of the paintings hanging on the walls (including an interesting reproduction of the “Madonna di Scutari”, a painting of Venetian origin). Due to a period of strong economic crisis of the company, the only materials left available on which to intervene are iron, copper and wood; these are resources that are recovered by Pjeter, wood in particular, both for the numerous processing experiences learned from the maternal side of the family, and for its incredible ductility.
It is no coincidence that his most original ideas are expressed in the interior and exterior furnishings that are requested above all by foreign clients. In fact, its production target manages to range stylistically from rustic to country villas, up to purely modern homes. “A dear friend of mine, a painter, tells me that I’m lucky enough to be versatile,” says Pjeter, smiling and a little embarrassed. Yet this is indeed how he appears to us too, as he shows us some of his works exhibited in the courtyard clearing. First of all, the one he is most proud of: a very special fountain in corten steel, surrounded by other sculptures in olive wood and iron with undulating shapes, which give the eye an overall new concept of design.
With the founding of Nika Arts in 2016, flanked by Nora and, more recently, his eldest daughter Gjovana for marketing, Pjeter has managed to realize his ambition to unite family and work – especially after the many difficulties faced along his life path – by blending his experience and craftsmanship with a refined and artistic vision to create not only furniture, but, more generally, beautiful, unique and long-lasting works.
Info: NIKA ARTS srls, C.A. Ossaia, 39/A – Cortona (AR)
Pjeter 339 8739566
Gjovana 392 3935919