Olson Lamaj (b. 1985, Albania) is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Albania. He holds a degree in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and a Master’s in Artistic Photography from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. His practice engages with social and political themes, reflecting on contemporary Albanian life while opening toward universal systems of meaning. Through photography, instalation, and editorial projects, Lamaj explores the semiotic saturation of everyday imagery and the mystical qualities of symbols tied to political ideologies. His work is closely connected to the photographic image and artistic publishing, which he approaches as alternative and democratic mediums for artistic expression.
Lamaj was the co-founder of MIZA Gallery (2013–2017), an artist-run space in Tirana, and the founder of Pararoja, an independent publishing platform established in 2020. Pararoja promotes alternative editorial practices in contemporary art through limited-edition fanzines and self-produced publications, giving space to new forms of storytelling in visual culture. He has represented Pararoja at various fairs, including Paris Ass Book Fair, Border less Istambul, Athens Art Book Fair, Vienna Art book Fair and Tirana indipendent art book Fair.
Lamaj is a recipient of the Ardhje Award (2013) and has participated in several international residencies, including Art Explora at Vila 31 (Tirana 2025) , Studio das weisse haus (Vienna, 2019), KulturKontakt (Austria, 2018), and ISCP (New York, 2013) His solo exhibitions include Transitioning into Green (Zeta Gallery, Tirana, 2023), Between Pattern and Shadow (Gallery 17, Prishtina), The Cat Above and the Mouse Below (Bazamant Art Space, Tirana, 2019), Holy Muscle (Hoast Project, Vienna, 2017), and (Over)Identification (Tulla Cultural Center, Tirana, 2015).
His group exhibitions include, MOMAFAD at (island of Sazan), Ethernet and a Day (Galeria e Bregdetit VLORA) I Beyond Matter EU: Immerse (Tallin Art Hall), A for Unapologetic (Vaska Gallery, Sofia), Nuit Blanche (Prizren), The In Between State of Mind (Budapest), Altered State (Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna), Du Order Ich? Collective Soul (Melk), Post – Young Albanian Artists (Fondazione Museo Pino Pascali), The Whale That Was a Submarine (Ludwig Museum, Budapest), Dark Chapters (, Graz), and Nationless (Contemporary Art Center, Thessaloniki).