Talisa Lallai

Based on Talisa Lallai‘s origins, the question of identity and identification is central to her artistic practice. On the one hand she explores a cultural landscape with which she has close family ties, addressing themes of home and belonging. On the other, she examines the idealization and stereotyping of the South, along with the ideas and images it evokes in us. In her work, she questions photography as a medium of cultural and temporal expression, using not only her own photographs but also found footage from private collections of slides, old magazines, and commercial travel photography. By doing so, she contrasts historical depictions of the South with contemporary perspectives.

Lallai’s works have been featured in numerous exhibitions and publications. While photography remains central to her practice, she also delves into installation art to further explore the spatial and contextual dynamics of visual perception.

Talisa Lallai holds a degree from the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and has received numerous grants and awards throughout her career. In 2021, she received a travel grant and publication funding from Kunststiftung NRW. She recieved the grant for Zeitgenössische deutsche Fotografie from the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung, Essen in 2020 and was shortlisted for the f/12.2 Förderstipendium by the DZ BANK Kunstsammlung in 2019. In 2018, she was awarded the Werner Deutsch Preis für Junge Kunst by the Museum Kurhaus in Kleve in 2018.

Lallai’s most recent solo exhibitions include: Atmosphere, Austin Space Munich (2025); Still Life, Soy Capitán, Berlin, DE (2024); Ciao!, Oldenburger Kunstverein, Oldenburg, DE (2024); Gelateria, Parisa Kind, Frankfurt am Main, DE (2022); Post Tropical, Museum Kurhaus, Kleve, DE (2019); Timbuktu, Kunstverein Reutlingen, Reutlingen, DE (2017); The Pleasant Shore, BolteLang, Zurich, CH (2015) and Disappear here, Coalmine, Winterthur (2015).

Selected group shows include: Sammlungspräsentation, Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, DE (2023); Waldmeister, Super Supermarkt, Berlin, DE (2022); Bon Voyage!, Ludwig Forum, Aachen, DE (2020); To the port, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden, NO (2019); Cuprum, Cultural Foundation, Nicosia, CYP (2016); Terra Incognita, Kunst im Tunnel, Düsseldorf, DE (2015) and 68. Bergische Kunstausstellung, Kunstmuseum Solingen, Solingen, DE (2014).

Works

Exhibitions

Press

Piccoli e grandi capolavori da museo by Slivia Anna Barrilà

Talisa Lallai malt Italien by Christoph Schütte

Buon viaggio con l'arte a prova di lockdown ﻿che non si ferma mai by Simona Marani

TWIST

Talisa Lallai – Autosole

Lallais Tukan im Eichenrahmen

Deutsch-Preis für Talisa Lallai by Matthias Grass

Talisa Lallai by Giulia Bernardi

Tre artisti, tre momenti - Studiolo, Milano by Elena Bordignon

Gefrorene Sehnsucht by Suzanne Kappeler

Publications

Talisa Lallai • Post Tropical • BOM DIA BOA TARDE BOA NOITE • 2024

Talisa Lallai • Ichnusa • Verlag für moderne Kunst • 2023

Talisa Lallai • Autosole • Verlag für moderne Kunst • 2020

Talisa Lallai • Timbuktu • Verlag für moderne Kunst • 2018

Paradise is Now - Palm Trees in Art • Hatje Cantz • Berlin • 2018

Terra Incognita • Kunst im Tunnel • Düsseldorf • 2015

Talisa Lallai • Closer to the Sea • Verlag für zeitgenössische Beobachtung • 2014

Buon viaggio con l'arte a prova di lockdown che non si ferma mai by Simona Marani

Talisa Lallai • Ichnusa • Verlag für moderne Kunst • 2023 