Born in 1961 in Alexandria, Cairo, Moataz Nasr is a self-taught contemporary artist who favored the pursuit of an artistic path to his former career as an economist. A versatile artist, Nasr...
MOATAZ NASR, Egypt (1961)
Bio
Born in 1961 in Alexandria, Cairo, Moataz Nasr is a self-taught contemporary artist who favored the pursuit of an artistic path to his former career as an economist. A versatile artist, Nasr deploys a variety of media, including painting, drawing, prints, sculpture, textiles, and video installation. His creations comprise Arabic calligraphy on fabric, flower mosaics made of inlaid wood and mother of pearl, arabesque patterns, and maps constructed with matchsticks, wooden sculptures, crystal statuettes, public installations, and traditional fables told by the elderly pictured in short narrative films.
Nasr investigates the notion of identity and belonging in a world of globalization, probing into the geopolitics and social development in Africa. Egypt is a central theme in his work; Nasr expresses the need to maintain a link with one's homeland. However, Nasr also addresses the political and social concerns in the Islamic world as a whole. He draws inspiration from historical data, spiritual Sufism, as well as his childhood memories and the social panorama in which he lives. Nasr gained local recognition marked by many prizes before breaking into the international art scene in 2001, notably winning the Grand Prix at the 8th International Cairo Biennial. Nasr presently lives and works in Cairo.
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.
CV
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2024
Moataz Nasr: Bottle Neck, Galleria Continua, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2023
Moataz Nasr: Retour d'Égypte, Galleria Continua, Paris, France
2022
Tectonic Shift, Spostamento Tettonico, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
2021
Delicate Balance, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, United States of America
2019
Paradise Lost, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
The liminal space, Castel del Monte, Italy
2017
The Mountain, Egyptian Pavilion, the 57thBiennale of Venice, Venice, Italy
2016
Avalanche, Galleria Continua, Les Moulins, Boissy-le-Châtel, France
2014
Art Talks Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
2015
Broken Patterns, Leila Heller Gallery, New York, United States of America
The Maze, The European forum Arts and local communities, Abbaye de Noirlac, Bruère-Allichamps, France
2013
The Journey of a Griffin, Villa Pachhiani, Centro Espositivo, Santa Croce sull’Arno, Italy
Harmonia, Centro Espositivo per le Arti Contemporanee, Pisa, Italy
Tectonic Shift, Galleria Continua, Le Moulin, Boissy-le-Châtel, France
2012
Collision, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Moataz Nasr / Hidden Landscape, Akershus Fortress, Oslo, Norway
The Tunnel, Galleria Continua, Beijing, China
2011
In a Nutshell, Selma Feriani Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Moataz Nasr – The Maze (The People Want the Fall of the Regime),Gothenburg, Sweden
Réactions en chaîne,Château de Blandy-Les-Tours, Blandy, France
The Other Side of the Mirror, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
2008
A Memory Fills with Holes, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
Cairo walk, Sultan Gallery, Sabhan, Kuwait
2006
Moataz Nasr, The Khalid Shoman Foundation, Darat al Funun, Amman, Jordan
Entrapment, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
2005
The Echo, Touchstones Art Gallery, Rochdale, United Kingdom
2004
Moataz Nasr, Falaki Gallery, The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
2003
Moataz Nasr, Franco Riccardo Gallery, Napoli, Italy
2001
Moataz Nasr, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
2000
Moataz Nasr, Egyptian Cultural Center in Paris, Paris, France
1999
Moataz Nasr, Al Ahram House Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024
Unhealed, Moderna Museet, Malmo, Sweden
2023
From The Ground Up, Galleria Continua, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
From The Ground Up II, Galleria Continua, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection, Chazen Museum of Art, Wisconsin, USA
UNTITLED Abstractions, Dalloul Art Foundation (DAF), Beirut, Lebanon
2022
In The Heat, Galleria Continua, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The Ability To Dream, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
2021
Truc à Faire, Gallery Continua, Paris, France
Ithra – Seing & Perceiving, King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Ithra, Dhahran,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Macao International Biennial, Macao
Never Cross the Same River Twice, International Contemporary Film Performance,Athens, Greece
Forever is Now, Giza Pyramids, Giza, Egypt
Reimagined Memories, Ubuntu Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
Cities Under Quarantine: The Mailbox Project, Villa Romana, Florence, Italy
Postcolonial Ecologies, Darat al Funun, Amman, Jordan
Di Tutti I Colori, Galleria Continua, Rome, Italy
The Nude: Sexuality, Dalloul art Foundation (DAF), Beirut, Lebanon
2020
Sculpture Projects, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Marrakech, Morocco
Orientalismos/Orientalism, Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencia, Spain
2019
The 13th Bienal de la Habana, Habana, Cuba
Do ut Do, Parco Archeologico di Pompei, Pompei, Italy
Fiac Hors Les Murs, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, France
2018
Second Yinchuan Biennale, Yinchuan, China
The International Contemporary Art Exhibition ICAE, Yaravan, Armenia
The Fabric of Felicity, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia
Persona Grata, Palais de la Porte Dorée, Musée National de l’histoire de l’immigration, Paris, France
Abu Dhabi Art – Beyond, Al Jahili Fortress, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
2017
Ciao Italia, Musée National de l’histoire de l’immigration, Paris, France
Metropolis, Afriques Capitales, La Villette, Paris, France
2016
D’une Méditerranée, l’autre, Hôtel des Arts, Toulon, France
Essentiel paysage, Musée d’Art Contemporain Africain, Foundation Alliances, Marrakesh, Morocco
Icastic-Anything to Declare?,Camera di Commercio, Prato, Italy
Senses of Time: Video and film-based Arts of Africa,Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Washington, United States of America
Senses of Time: Video and film-based Arts of Africa, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, Washington, United States of America
Dak’Art – Biennale de l’Art Africain Contemporain, Dakar, Senegal
Da Sud a Sud, Fondazione Corriere della Sera, Bari, Italy
A place in Time, Voice Gallery, Krugersdorp, Zambia
2015
Follia Continua!,Le CENTQUATE, Paris, France
Icastica Arezzo Art Festival, Arezzo, Italy
The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory and Hell Revisited by Revisited by Contemporary African Artists, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, United States of America
All The World’s a Mosque, Ancient Theatre of Carthage, Tunisia
Too early, too late: Middle East and Modernity, Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Forum européen Arts et Territoires, Abbaye de Noirlac, Bruère-Allichamps, France
2014
The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, United States of America
The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
“Made by… Feito por Brasileiros”, a creative invasion, Cidade Matrazzo, Sao Paolo, Brazil
Park in Progress 11, Nicosia, Cyprus
Easts – Contemporary Visions – Villa Ada Meets the World, Multicultural Festival, Rome, Italy
The sea is my and – aristi dal Mediterraneo, Emanuel Mazzonis, Triennale, Milan, Italy
Arab Contemporary – Architecture, Culture and Identity, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark
2013
Terms and conditions, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
Tappeti estremi, da Timbuctù all’Arte Contemporanea, Fondazione 107, Turin, Italy
In Peace and with compassion: The way forward – 5thCaravan Festival of the Arts, Cairo, Egypt
Métamorphose, Festival International des Textiles Extraordinaires, Huê, Vietnam
Every Day Matters, Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
Turbulences II, Boghossian Foundation, Brussels, Belgium
Pen to Paper,Al Madad Foundation, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Cadavre exquis, suite méditerranéenne, Musée Granet and Marseille Provence, Aix-en-Provence, France
2012
Long Live Free Art!, Art Talks Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
In Spite of it All, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Fictions and dissentions – 3rdInternational Çanakkale Biennial, Çanakkale, Turkey
Par Nature, Le CENTQUATRE, Paris, France
Métamorphose, Festival International des Textiles Extraordinaires, Musée Bargoin, Clermont – Ferrand, France
Where is the Time?, Foundation IZOLYATSIA, Donetsk, Ukraine
Mediterraneo: incontri o conflitti?, Palazzo Gargasole, Gagliano del Capo, Italy
Radici, Memoria, Identità e Cambiamento nell’arte di oggi, a cura di Eugenio Viola, Fondazione Malvina Menegaz per le Arti e le Culture, Palazzo De Sanctis Castelbasso, Italy
Arab Express, The Latest Art from the Arab World,Tokyo, Japan
Dak’Art, African Contemporary Art Biennale, Dakar, Senegal
Intrecci, Museo delle Trame Mediterranee, Gibellina, Italy
Moataz Nas-Loris Cecchini, Studio Carlotta Pesce, Bologna, Italy
A bordo del Cuore d’Oro, 7thedition of Bologhna Art First – Arte Fiera, Palazzo d’Accursio, Bologna, Italy
Histories of Now: Six artists from Cairo, Museum School and The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, United States of America
2011
Resistance, DARB 1718, Cairo, Egypt
Dancing on the Edge Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Miniatures - 14thIslamic Art Festival, Sharjah Museum, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Images Affranchies, Banque du Maroc, Marrakesh, Morocco
Machine-RAUM Festival, Vejle Art Museum, Vejle, Denmark
A Rock and a Hard Place, Old Intersections – Make it New, 3rdThessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, State Museum of Contemporary Art (SMCA), Thessaloniki, Greece
The Mystical Self, ARTVerona and [.BOX.], Milan, Italy
Revolutionary Bodies, Asinara Island, Italy
2010
Fames: Family Vaudeville, DARB 1718, Cairo, Egypt
Sphère 3, Galleria Continua, Le Moulin, Boissy-le-Chatel, France
21stCentury: Art in the first Decade, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
Time After Time: Actions and Interactions, Southern Exposure Gallery, San Francisco, United States of America
Hiwar, DARB 1718, Cairo, Egypt
Rencontres PICHA,2ndLubumbashi Biennale, Lubumbashi, Congo
GEO-graphics – A map of ART practices in AFRICA, past and present, Centre for Fine Art, Brussels, Belgium
Idoles, Galleria Continua, Le Moulin, France
Un peu, beacoup, passionnement…, Galerie Alice Mogabgab, Beirut, Lebanon
Barakat: The Gift, Stux Gallery, New York, United States of America
Hiwar/Discussion, Galerie Le Violon Bleu, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia
2009
Taswir, Islamische Bildwelten und moderne, Martin-Gropius-Beau, Berlin, Germany
Made in Afrika, Nairobi National Museum, Nairobi, Kenya
Amnesia, Nairobi Arts Trust and Contemporary Art of East Africa (CCAEA), Nairobi, Kenya
[un]defined09 – Merano Arts Festival, Merano, Italy
Reflections of Africa, National Museum of Modern and contemporary Art, Algiers, Algeria
The African Contemporary Art, Exhibition Center, Algiers, Algeria
Mediterranean, Palazzo Rospigliosi, Rome, Italy
Coexistencias / Coexistences, 2ndCanary Islands Biennale, Centro de Arte La Regenta, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
MidEast Cut, The Danish Film Institute & Backyard Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Shoes, Ebdaa Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
2008
Al Madina, Ebdaa Art Gallery, Mohandessin, Egypt
Traversées, Darb 1718, Cairo, Egypt
Resilience, Galleria Continua, Le Moulin, France
Les Rencontres Internationales de la Photo, Centre Cervantes, Fez, Morocco
Traversées (Crossings),Grand Palais, Paris, France
2007
Dans la ville et au-delà, Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie de Bamako 2007, Paris, France
The Sneeze, Durban Art Gallery, Durban, South Africa
L’invention de la mémoire, Escape Jeumont, Saint-Denis, France
24thMemorial NSEŽDA PETROVIĆ, Belgrade, Serbia
AFRICA REMIX, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2006
Another World. Bamako 2005, European Center for Contemporary Art, Brussels, Belgium
AFRICA REMIX, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
Un autre monde– 6e edition de la photographie de Bamako, Bibliothèque National de France, Paris, FranceL’image révélée : de l’orientalisme à l’art contemporain, Musée de la Ville de Tunis, Palais Kheireddine, Tinus, Tunisia
AFRICA REMIX, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Cross-Currents: Water as a Metaphor for (African) Identity?, Tufts University Art Gallery, Aidekman Arts Center, Medford, United States of America
Ghosts of Self and State, Monash University Museum of Art, Monash, Melbourne, Australia
2005
Bamako Biennale for African Photography, Mali
The 2ndInternational Triennale of Contemporary Art, Yokohama, Japan
The 7thSharjah Biennale, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
AFRICA REMIX, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Forming with Light, Palace of Art, Opera House, Cairo, Egypt
4x4, Artists Space, Broadway, New York, United States of America
Imagining The Book, Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Egypt
Loose Your Identity, Kunstverein Kreis, Ludwigsburg, Germany
French Cultural Center, Damascus, Syria
AFRICA REMIX, Hayward Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2004
The 25thSao Paolo Biennale, Sao Paolo, Brazil
AFRIKA REMIX, Museum Kunst Palast, Dusseldorf, Germany
Dak’art, 7thDakar Biennale, Dakar, Senegal
Le Opera e I giorni, Triennale, Certosa di Padula, Italy
Milly Pozzi Arte Contemporanea, Como, Italy
Sneeze 80x80, Athens, Greece
2003
The 50thBiennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy
Disorientation, House of World Cultures, Berlin, Germany
2002
Dak’art, 6thDakar Biennale, Senegal
Unplugged, Arts Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria
You can Touch, Espace Karim Francis, Cairo, Egypt
2001
Intresecus-Extrincus, Studio Casoli, Milan, Italy
Ambiente: Le Area Non Protette, Palazzo Pretorio Sala del Consiglio Communale, Sondrio, Italy
Cairo Modern Art Exhibition in Denhag, Holland
The 8thInternational Cairo Biennale, Opera Arts Palace, Egypt
2000
The Palm Tree, Mashrabeya Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
For Jerusalem, Hanager Opera House, Cairo, Egypt
The 5thCairo International Biennale for Ceramics, Opera House Arts Palace, Cairo,Egypt
1999
The 27thNational Exhibition for Fine Arts, Opera House Arts Palace, Cairo, Egypt
1989
The 26thNational Exhibition for Fine Arts, Akhnaton Center of Art, Cairo, Egypt
The First Show for Artists over 35 years and honored, Museum of Fine Arts, Alexandria, Egypt
The 4thCairo International Biennale for Ceramics, Center of Art, Cairo, Egypt
The Days of kom Ghorab, Hanager Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
1997
The 25thNational Exhibition for Fine Arts, Center of Art, Cairo, Egypt
1996
The 24thNational Exhibition for Fine Arts, Center of Art, Cairo, Egypt
1995
The 7thSalon of Youth, Center of Art, Cairo, Egypt
Awards
2001
Awarded by the 8thInternational Cairo Biennale Jury, Cairo, Egypt
Collections
Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon
The Khalid Shoman Foundation – Darat al funun, Amman, Jordan
Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
La Bodega lounge, Cairo, Egypt
Al Maaden Park of Sculptures, Marrakech, Morocco
Artos Cultural and Research Foundation, Nicosia, Cyprus
Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome, Rome, Italy
Museo del Cristallo, Colle val d’Elsa, Italy
MOATAZ NASR Artwork
Become a Member
Join us in our endless discovery of modern and contemporary Arab art
Become a Member
Get updates from DAF
Follow Artists
Save your favourite Artworks
Share your perspectives on Artworks
Be part of our community
It's Free!
We value your privacy
TermsCookiesPrivacy Policies
Become a Member
Get updates from DAF
Follow Artists
Save your favourite Artworks
Share your perspectives on Artworks
Be part of our community
It's Free!
We value your privacy
TermsCookiesPrivacy Policies
Become a Member
Get updates from DAF
Follow Artists
Save your favourite Artworks
Share your perspectives on Artworks
Be part of our community
It's Free!
We value your privacy
TermsCookiesPrivacy Policies
Welcome to the Dalloul Art Foundation
Thank you for joining our community
If you have entered your email to become a member of the Dalloul Art Foundation, please click the button below to confirm your email and agree to our Terms, Cookie & Privacy policies.
We value your privacy, see how
Become a Member
Get updates from DAF
Follow Artists
Save your favourite Artworks
Share your perspectives on Artworks
Be part of our community
It's Free!
We value your privacy
TermsCookiesPrivacy Policies