Lebanese artist Nabil Nahas was born in Beirut in 1949. He spent the first ten years of his life in Cairo for his father’s work, then moved back to Lebanon to be enrolled in a boarding school near...
NABIL NAHAS, Lebanon (1949)
Bio
Written by L’Or Iman Puymartin
Lebanese artist Nabil Nahas was born in Beirut in 1949. He spent the first ten years of his life in Cairo for his father’s work, then moved back to Lebanon to be enrolled in a boarding school near Beirut. He attended university in the United States, completing his BFA at Louisiana State University, followed by an MFA at Yale University, which he earned in 1973. Today, he spends his time between New York and Beirut.
Nahas began painting at the young age of ten; after his elderly piano teacher from boarding school passed away, his only alternative option for an artistic endeavor was to take up painting classes. He became fond of it immediately and decided to dedicate the rest of his life to the craft. Though it was common for young artists of his generation to leave Lebanon and study abroad in Europe, it was less common for them to go to the United States. This being his only desire, he chose the unconventional route and left his home in Lebanon for the States. Nahas’ inspiration comes from several sources, chief among them the Western abstract artists with whom he was surrounded and by whom he was taught. While at Yale, Nahas encountered and familiarized himself with artists like Frank Stella and Larry Poons, finding inspiration in Stella’s large-scale hard-edged geometric paintings and Poons’ detached way of reducing geometric shapes to their essence. Beyond the influences of his American peers, however, Nahas drew inspiration primarily from nature and Islamic visual culture.
Nahas has always expressed an interest in both exploring the countless ways of making images as well as discovering new visual languages through painting. This is directly evident through his work, which displays in its treatment of brushwork and color a style that is constantly evolving. Since acquiring his MFA at Yale, Nahas’s work has gone through several radical stylistic changes, though it has remained within the broad umbrella category of abstraction. His first notable period comprises primarily hard-edged geometric shapes, colorful with bright tonalities and high contrast. His shapes were superimposed on at least three layers in each of these works, and they gave more of an essence of decorative motif than they did simple geometry. The following period was a somber, less geometric approach, where the artist dropped hard edges and bright colors in favor of canvases populated mainly by vast plains of black and brown. This somber period began around the outset of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), and the radical shift can be understood as relating to the war’s emotional impact on the artist. At the same time, this transition should not be reduced to a stylistic translation of the artist’s emotions; it should also be appreciated as an aesthetic development in its own right, evidence of the way the artist re-evaluates and works through his artistic achievements.
Having always been taken by natural beauty, Nahas finds pleasure in scouring the Lebanese mountains for inspiration, and culls source material from the flora and fauna of other places he has visited as well. He has conceived abstract paintings of the tree varieties native to Lebanon and Egypt, such as cedar, olive, and palm. Nahas presents these colossal trees cropped in a way to blur their form and focus on their texture, magnificence and longevity, filling his canvas around them with flowers whose delicacy hints at their ephemerality in contrast to the ancient trees.
In the early 1990s, Nahas began creating the three-dimensional sea life forms for which he is most known.
This phase began in 1991, when Nahas was walking on the shore of Long Island after a strong hurricane and came across thousands of washed up starfish. He collected some and brought them home, casting them and creating his first starfish piece, which he entitled EUREKA. That moment was a stylistic breakthrough for Nahas, whose marine-inspired mixed media projects have earned critical acclaim.
These mostly large-scale works begin with casts that he creates from starfish and clams, which he mounts onto a canvas before painting the composition. He also uses pumice to give his works a gritty texture evocative of coral, creating circular, three-dimensional objects that protrude from his canvases.
Most recently, it seems that Nahas has merged his signature styles, combining the forms from his early geometric compositions, fractal paintings, and his trees to create canvases full of color, life and fields of energy. Today, he is one of Lebanon’s most renowned living artists, and works between Beirut and New York.
Sources
Katz, Vincent, and Nasser Chammaa. Nabil Nahas works 1970-2010: exhibition, Beirut, Beirut Exhibition Center, from June 22 to August 22. 2010. Beirut: Solidere, 2010.
"Nabil Nahas." Lawrie Shabibi. Accessed December 20, 2017. http://www.lawrieshabibi.com/artists/27-nabil-nahas/overview/.
Nahas, Nabil, and Joseph Tarrab. Nabil Nahas: works 1970-1980. Dubai: Lawrie Shabibi, 2014.
Ratcliff, Carter, and Nabil Nahas. Nabil Nahas. New York ...: Rizzoli, 2016.
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
2023
Nabil Nahas, Chateau la Coste, France
Nabil Nahas: Tethys, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2019
Nabil Nahas, Saleh Barakat Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
2018
Nabil Nahas: Untitled, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong
2016
Nabil Nahas: Recent Works, Saleh Barakat Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
2014
Nabil Nahas: Phoenix Dactylifera, Ben Brown Fine Arts, London, UK
Nabil Nahas, Lawrie Shabibi Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2013
Nabil Nahas, Sperone Westwater Gallery, New York, US
2011
Palms and Stars, Lawrie Shabibi Gallery, Dubai, UAE
Nabil Nahas, Ben Brown Fine Arts, London, UK
2010
Cedrus Libani: Roots and Memory, FIAF Gallery, New York, US
Nabil Nahas: Works 1970-2010, Beirut Exhibition Center, Beirut, Lebanon
2009
Nabil Nahas: untitled (trees), Galerie Tanit, Munich, Germany
2005
Galerie Xippas, Paris, France
2003
J. Johnson Gallery, Jacksonville Beach, Florida, US
2002
25th Bienniale of Sao Paulo, Brazil
1999
Sperone Westwater Gallery, New York, US
1998
Baumgartner Galleries, Washington, D.C., US
Milleventi, Milan, Italy
1997
Sperone Westwater, New York, US
1994
Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, Colorado, US
1988
Galerie Montenay, Paris, France
Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, US
1987
Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, US
1980
Robert Miller Gallery, New York, US
1979
Robert Miller Gallery, New York, US
1978
Robert Miller Gallery, New York, US
1977
Ohio State University, Ohio, US
1973
Yale University, Connecticut, US
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024
Summer Album, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2023
Double Take: Contemporary Redefined, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Florida, USA
2022
Tales, Myths, and Legends, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon
Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s–1980s, The Block Museum, Illinois, USA
Buy Me a Tree for the Season, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, Lebanon
2020
Ben Brown Fine Arts: Celebrating 10 Years in Hong Kong, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2019
Towards The Sublime, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon
BEYOND: Modern and Contemporary Lebanese Art and Design, Phillips, London, UK
2018
A Century in Flux, Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, US
2017
Chefs-D’oeuvre de L’Art Moderne Et Contemporain Arabe, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
TRIO, Vivian Horan Fine art, New York, US
2016
Abu Dhabi Art, UAE
Jardins d’Orient, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
The Short Century, Sharjah Museum, Sharjah, UAE
2015
Art Dubai Contemporary, Dubai, UAE
The Armory Show, New York City, US
Summer Show, Leila Heller Gallery, New York, US
2014
Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Art Basel Miami Beach, Florida, US
ZIPORA FRIED / BASIM MAGDY / NABIL NAHAS / DANI TULL, On Stellar Rays, New York, US
Sky Over The East, Emirates Palace, UAE
2013
Murano>
Encounter: Royal Academy in the Middle East, Cultural Village Foundation, Doha, Qatar
2012
New Acquisitions, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, US
Glasstress New York: New Art from the Venice Biennales, Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), New York, US
Glasstress Beirut, Beirut Exhibition Center, Beirut, US
2011
Glasstress 2011: Collateral Event of the 54th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Venice, Italy
2010
Convergence: New Art from Lebanon, Katzen Arts Center, American University Museum, Washington D.C, US
BARAKAT: The Gift. Contemporary Art from the Middle East and Africa, Stux Gallery, New York, US
2002
American Fractals, Blanden Memorial Art Museum, Fort Dodge, Iowa, US
XXV Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Blobs, Wiggles and Dots, Webs and Crustillations, The Work Space, New York, US
Invitational Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, US
2001
Painting Abstraction II, New York Studio School, New York, US
Green on Greene, Sperone Westwater, New York, US
2000
Arte Americana; Ultimo Decennio, Museo d’Arte della Citta di Ravenna, Ravenna, Italy
Le Temps Fractal, Galerie Xippas, Paris, France
1999
Souvenirs: Collecting, Memory, and Material Culture, The Museum Guild Hall, New York, US
Group Exhibition, Sperone Westwater Gallery, New York, US
1997
Galerie Tanit, Munich, Germany
What’s Hot, Baumgartner Galleries, Washington, D.C., US
1996
Sperone Westwater Gallery, New York, US
1994
Brian Gross Gallery, San Francisco, US
1993
Edward Thorp Gallery, New York, US
1989
Chicago Art Fair, Chicago, US
1988
American Baroque, Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, US
1987
Razzle Dazzle, SSC&B Worldwide Advertising, New York, US
Art against Aids, Benefit Auction organized by Livet-Reichard, New York, US
1983
Twentieth Century Art From the Metropolitan Museum, Queens Museum, Queens, New York, US
1981
Studio Museum of Harlem, New York, US
1980
Subject Space, Pratt Institute Gallery, New York, US
1979
Paintings on Loan from Private Collections, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, US
New York Now, Phoenix Museum, Arizona, US
Basel Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
1977
Art on Paper, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, US
Awards and Honors
2013
National Order of the Cedar for services to Lebanese culture, Lebanon
1980
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant
Collections
The British Museum, London, UK
Tate Modern, London, UK
The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, US
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, US
Vorhees Zimmerli Museum, Rutgers University, New Jersey, US
Colby Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, US
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Pennsylvania, US
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, US
The Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan, US
Michigan Museum of Art UMMA, Michigan, US
Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar
Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
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Press
Nabil Nahas Links Sea And Sky In His New Exhibition At Chateau La Coste.pdf
Bold new design & curatorial innovations to power-up Frieze London & Masters 2024. - FAD Magazine.pdf
Nabil Nahas is now showing his exhibition _Tethys_ at Lawrie Shabibi.pdf
Ben Brown Fine Arts_ Celebrating 10 Years in Hong Kong on artnet(1).pdf
Nabil Nahhas5.pdf
Interview With Artist Nabil Nahas - Lebanon Traveler.pdf
نبيل نحاس رسام بلاد تُرى في أصغر ما فيها _ فاروق يوسف _ صحيفة العرب.pdf
Frieze London and Frieze Masters Announce the 2024 Galleries _ Observer.pdf
Nabil Nahas Links Sea And Sky In His New Exhibition At Chateau La Coste.pdf
Copy of « Les Cactus » de Bibi Zogbé - L_Orient-Le Jour.pdf
Nabil Nahas1.pdf
Gallery_Summer 2019_Issue 4_Youssef Abdelke_Ayman Baalbaki_Nabil Nahas_Fadi el Chamaa.pdf
SANCTUARIES _ NABIL NAHAS • SELECTIONS ARTS MAGAZINE.pdf
الحياة - Details.pdf
Five Facts About Nabil Nahas - IDOL Magazine.pdf
Copy of Un cèdre de Nabil Nahas sur un timbre, à l’occasion du 75e anniversaire de l’indépendance – Ministère libanais de l’Information.pdf
Copy of Nabil Nahas.pdf
Copy of NABIL NAHAS_ Lebanon_s 75th anniversary of independance _ Ben Brown Fine Arts.pdf
NabilNahas_ARMORY WEEK PICK OF THE DAY_ Nabil Nahas at The Armory Show_artcritical_Press.pdf
Copy of Ahmad Minkara Interviews Lebanese-American Artist Nabil Nahas - Arab America.pdf
NabilNahas_Nabil Nahas shows his paintings in London_The National_Press.pdf
NabilNahas_Portraits of Paradise, From Memory_ Nabil Nahas_News_Art in America_Press.pdf
Nabil Nahas,Aesthetica Magazine_Phoenix Dactylifera,Ben Brown Fine Arts, London.pdf
كائنات نبيل نحاس... ملعبها الحرية الأخبار.pdf
NabilNahas_Arte Fuse contemporary art at Sperone Westwater.pdf
Nabil Nahas - BOMB Magazine.pdf
وسام الأرز من رتبة فارس للرسام نبيل نحاس ومؤسسة التراث الوطني كرّمته في المتحف - النهار.pdf
Copy of lebanonfiles.pdf
نبيل نحاس يرسم بالألوان الذهبية ليعكس تألق الضوء على الأشجار - جريدة الاتحاد.pdf
Nabil Nahas_Glasstress World_Press.pdf
Sperone Westwater.pdf
ParisArt.pdf
NabilNahas_NabilNahasBYWilliamLawrie_Press.pdf
NABIL NAHAS Artwork
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