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Gazmend Freitag (50), the well-known Albanian international painter and Kosovo native, has lived and worked in Linz for a number of years. “Bridges” are a subject that has always fascinated him, occupying an important place in his creative work.
Linz’s Nibelung Bridge, the historic Ottoman stone arch bridge built in his hometown of Prizren in the 15th century, the Scalzi Bridge in Venice, the Aire de Loisirs de Pons in France – all of these structures have already appeared in Gazmend Freitag’s art.
“There’s something in a bridge that strikes a chord in me,” said Freitag. “Any bridge to be torn down leaves a void that can never again be filled.“
Now his “Bridge Cycle” has been augmented by yet another meaningful work.
An important concern for the artist is to preserve in canvas the 116-year-old historical railway bridge in Linz for posterity as it is going to be soon dismantled due to its poor condition and replaced with a new structure. The first sketches were finished by Gazmend Freitag in February of this year, shortly before the bridge was closed. Now the main work, an enormous oil painting of the old “Iron Lady”, has just been completed and titled the “Linz Railway Bridge”. It is hoped this wonderful picture will soon find an interested buyer!
Ursula Pfeiffer, Curator
 Gazmend Freitag at his studio in Linz, 2019. Photo: Johann Traunwieser
 Gazmend Freitag: Linz Railway Bridge, 2016, oil on canvas, 100 x 80 cm |
