Helidon Gjergji was born and raised in Tirana, Albania, where he first studied art and earned a BFA from the Academy of Arts in Tirana. With the opening of Albania's borders in 1991, he moved to Italy, where he further studied the visuals arts, obtained a degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, Italy, and traveled widely throughout Italy and Europe. In 1997, he then moved to Chicago, where he earned an MFA in Art Theory and Practice from Northwestern University, Chicago, and had his first American exhibitions. He currently lives in New York City.
