Born in 1939 in Albania, Pandi Mele is a graphic artist,
painter, and art critic. He studied graphic arts at the Repin
in the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, Russia, from 1959
to 1961, and at the Academy of Arts in Tirana, Albania
from 1961 to 1964. He first achieved recognition in 1964
with a series of twelve linocuts, Migjeni Motifs. In later
graphic works he attempted to reflect advanced social
developments in Albanian society. His work is distinguished
for its skillful composition and his use of laconic means of
expression. His expressive lines and balance of tones are
permeated with an epic spirit with a tendency toward the
monumental. Mele has shown his work widely throughout
the world and has published numerous articles as an art
critic. He is the holder of many awards, including Merited
Artist of the Republic of Albania. For more than thirtyfive
years he worked as director of the graphic atelier
and professor at the Academy of Arts in Tirana, Albania;
an expert of fine arts in the Ministry of Education and
Culture of Albania; a specialist of fine arts at the Center of
Artists of Albania; and editor in chief at the Naim Frashëri
publishing house in Tirana. Mele lives and works in Albania
and the United States.
