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Dalloul Art Foundation
YOUSSEF NABIL YOUSSEF NABIL

YOUSSEF NABIL, Egypt (1972)

Bio

Nabil's studied French literature at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. Enthralled by the elegance and charm of early Egyptian cinema, as well as the hand-colored family portraits ubiquitous in...

Nabil's studied French literature at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. Enthralled by the elegance and charm of early Egyptian cinema, as well as the hand-colored family portraits ubiquitous in Cairo's living rooms, he sought inspiration from the renowned Egyptian-Armenian photographer, Van Leo. Celebrated for his glamorous studio portraits capturing the allure of iconic Egyptian actresses from the 1940s and 50s, Van Leo became a significant influence on Nabil's artistic vision.

Nabil's portfolio showcases portraits of renowned figures, ranging from the iconic belly dancer Fifi Abdou to talented artists like Ghada Amer, singer Natacha Atlas, and actress Youssra. Delving into the fleeting nature of existence, Nabil infuses his art with motifs of transience, especially evident in his introspective self-portraits.

In 2003, Nabil's received the Seydou Keita Prize for portraiture at the Biennial of African Photography. These images, captured across the globe, serve as metaphors for his sense of displacement and yearning for a lost homeland, depicted in idealized memories rendered in silver print. Today Youssef Nabil lives and works in New York City.

This is a short biography. The full version, along with research, CV and sources will be posted soon. Stay tuned and visit us often or become a member to be notified of our updates.

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CV

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2022

Youssef Nabil: The Beautiful Voyage, The Third Line, Dubai, Al Quoz, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Youssef Nabil: Memory Of A Happy Place, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris (Cloître Saint-Merri), France

2020

Youssef Nabil: Once Upon a Dream, Palazzo Grassi, François Pinault Foundation, Venice, Italy

2018

Youssef Nabil, GAGPROJECTS,  Adelaide, Australia

2017

Youssef Nabil: Deep Roots, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
Youssef Nabil: I Saved My Belly Dancer, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami, Florida, USA

2016

Youssef Nabil: I Saved My Belly Dancer, The Third Line, Dubai, Al Quoz, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2015

Youssef Nabil: I Saved my Belly Dancer, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris (Cloître Saint-Merri), Paris, France

2013

Youssef Nabil - Time of Transformation, The Third Line, Dubai, Al Quoz, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2012

Youssef Nabil, MEP, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France

2011

Youssef Nabil: You Never Left, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris (Cloître Saint-Merri), Paris, France

2010

Youssef Nabil, Yossi Milo, Upper West Side, New York, USA

2009

I will go to Paradise, The Third Line, Doha, Doha, Qatar
Youssef Nabil, DIEHL (Niebuhrstrasse), Mitte, Berlin, Germany

2008

CINEMA, Stevenson, Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

2007

Portraits, Self-Portraits, The Third Line, Dubai, Al Quoz, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2005

Youssef Nabil: Portraits, The Third Line, Dubai, Al Quoz, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024

The Circle Was A Point, Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
The Circle Was a Point
, Foundry Downtown Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2023

Coups de Cœur, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon
15 Year Anniversary Brussels, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Brussels, Belgium

2022

Perpetual Inventory, Volume 1: An Exercise in Looking, The Third Line, Dubai, Al Quoz, United Arab Emirates
Photography, Jewels and Handbags, Sotheby's Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2021

Le Dessin de A à Z, Galerie Baudoin Lebon, Paris, France
A Boundless Drop to a Boundless Ocean, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida, USA

2020

Looking Forward, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris (Cloître Saint-Merri), Paris, France
There Is Fiction In The Space Between, The Third Line, Dubai, Al Quoz, United Arab Emirates
Portraits, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Brussels, Belgium

2018

Focus, The Third Line, Dubai, Al Quoz, United Arab Emirates
Both, And, Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa

2017

Exposition d'été, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Brussels, Belgium

2016

Ce que fait le printemps avec les cerisiers (Pablo Neruda), Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris (Cloître Saint-Merri), Paris, France
Dream Light: Selections from the PAMM Video Art Collection, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami, USA
Group Exhibition, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris (Cloître Saint-Merri), Paris, France

2015

Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art of the Middle East, LACMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Park La Brea, Los Angeles, California, USA

2014

The Divine Comedy, MMK, Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
The Greater Middle East Unv…, Opera Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2013

Utopia: Photography Show, Opera Gallery, Seoul, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

2012

In Between, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Brussels, Belgium

2011

The Mask & The Mirror, Leila Heller Gallery, New York, New York, USA
The State: Social/Antisocial?, Traffic Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The State: Social/Antisocial?, Dubai, Al Quoz, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2010

Told/Untold/Retold, Mathaf, Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar
Portraits, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Brussels, Belgium

2009

Summer Show, The Third Line, Qatar
I will go to paradise
, The Third Line, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2008

Disguise: The art of attracting and deflecting attention, Stevenson, Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Portrait Ii
, Galeria Leme, Sao Paulo, Brazil

YOUSSEF NABIL Artwork

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