Nabil Nahas b. 1949

Overview

Nabil Nahas (b. 1949, Beirut, Lebanon) is widely regarded as one of Lebanon’s most renowned painters, first establishing himself in New York art circles as a master of colour, texture and atmosphere. Although trained in Western abstract painting, his work draws on a diverse range of influences, most significantly nature and, at times, Islamic art, particularly its geometric and chromatic qualities. He is best known for his thickly encrusted starfish and fractal paintings, built up through layers of acrylic mixed with pumice, as well as for expressive landscape works depicting cedars, olive trees and palms that reconnect him to the places of his childhood in Lebanon and Egypt. He received a BFA from Louisiana State University in 1971 and an MFA from Yale University in 1973. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Frieze Masters, London; Château La Coste, France; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and is held in major collections including Tate, London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the British Museum, London; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

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Works

Untitled, 2023
Untitled 3, 2003-2010
Untitled, 2009
Untitled (Blue Stars), 1994
Untitled, 2010
Untitled, 1994
Untitled, 1994
Untitled, 2000-2010
Untitled, 2010
Untitled, 2010
Cedrus Libani - Roots and Memory, 2014
Eclypse, 1978
Kind of Blue, 2013
Mermaid (Opal)
Midnight Sun, 2013
Serendipity, 2013
Twizzler, 2013
Untitled, 2013
Untitled, 2012
Untitled, 2013
Untitled, 2013
Untitled, 2013
Untitled, 1997
Untitled, 2010
Untitled, 2012
Untitled , 1981
Untitled (black star), 2014
Untitled (Geometric period), 1981
Untitled (red star), 2014

Biography

Nabil Nahas (b. 1949, Beirut, Lebanon) was born in Beirut and spent the first ten years of his life in Cairo. He received a BFA from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, in 1971 and an MFA from Yale University in 1973, after which he established himself in New York, where he became known as a master of colour, texture and atmosphere. Although thoroughly schooled in Western abstract painting, his work draws on a diverse range of influences, most significantly nature and, at times, Islamic art, particularly its abstract geometric and chromatic qualities. Among the series for which he is best known are his thickly encrusted starfish and fractal paintings, built up through layers of acrylic mixed with pumice and finished in vivid colour, as well as landscape works depicting cedars, olive trees and palms that reconnect him to the places of his childhood in Lebanon and Egypt.

His solo exhibitions include Spotlight, Frieze Masters with Lawrie Shabibi, London (2023); Tethys, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai (2023); Grounded in the Sky, Château La Coste, France (2023); Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong (2018); Saleh Barakat Gallery, Beirut (2016); Ben Brown Fine Arts, London (2014); Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai (2013); Sperone Westwater, New York (2013); Ben Brown Fine Arts, London (2011); Palms and Stars, Lawrie Shabibi (2011); Beirut Exhibition Center (2010); FIAF Gallery, New York (2010); and Galerie Tanit, Munich (2009).

He has participated in numerous group exhibitions including The Armory Show with Ben Brown Fine Arts, New York (2024); Kawkaba: Highlights from the Barjeel Art Foundation, Christie’s, London (2023); KanYaMakan, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon (2022); Infinite Geometry, Tate Modern, London (2021); The Four Seasons: SUMMER, BenBrownFineArts, London (2020); Currently Published, Vivian Horan Fine Art, NY (2019); A Century in Flux: Highlights from the Barjeel Art Foundation, Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah (2017); Dallas Art Fair with Lawrie Shabibi (2017); Jardins d’Orient, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris (2016); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2012); Museum of Arts and Design, New York (2012); Venice Biennale collateral exhibition, Murano (2011); and Stux Gallery, New York (2010), among others.

His work is held in major international collections including Tate, London; the British Museum, London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; the High Museum of Art, Atlanta; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; the Colby College Museum of Art; the Barjeel Art Foundation; and the Flint Institute of Arts.

In 2013 he was awarded the National Order of the Cedar for services to Lebanese culture.

He will represent Lebanon at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026.

Nahas lives and works between New York and Beirut.

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Exhibitions