Nabil Nahas
Untitled (Olive Tree) | 2012
244 x 152 cm.

The artist acquired an abandoned silk factory where he planted multiple olive trees. In the 2000s, Nabil Nahas began a series devoted to trees including cedars, olive and palm trees. Their organic structures are seen from a very short distance, with an emphasis on the textures of the trunks. Closer to portraits rather than landscapes, the concept is derived from his interest in Islamic art, the idea of paradise and personal experience.

Reference NN-P-2012-A

Biography of the artist

Born in Beirut, Lebanon. 1949
Works and Lives in Beirut and New-York


Nabil Nahas grew up in Cairo and Beirut, and moved to the U.S. to study. He earned a BFA from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge in 1971 and an MFA from Yale University in 1973. Encounters with contemporary painters at Yale influenced Nahas to move to New York. He has participated in several solo exhibitions including at Saleh Barakat Gallery (Beirut, 2016); Ben Brown Fine Arts (London, 2014 and 2011); Lawrie Shabibi (Dubai, 2013 and 2011); Sperone Westwater (New York, 2013); Beirut Exhibition Center (Beirut, 2010); FIAF Gallery (New York, 2010); and Galerie Tanit (Munich, 2009). Nahas has previously taken part in numerous group exhibitions around the world including: Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Dallas Art Fair, Texas; Art Dubai Contemporary; Abu Dhabi Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Arts and Design (MAD); Glasstress 2011: Collateral Event of the 54th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, Berengo Centre for Contemporary Art and Glass, Campiello della Pescheria, Murano, Italy; XXV Bienal de São Paulo 2002; Sperone Westwater, New York; New York Studio School; Galerie Xippas, Paris; Museo d’Arte della Citta di Ravenna; The Museum Guild Hall; FIAC, Paris etc. His works can be found in the collections of Tate Modern in London, UK; the British Museum, London, UK; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, NY, USA; the Vorhees Zimmerli Museum, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA; the Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, USA; the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Barjeel Foundation, Sharjah, UAE; the Flint Institute of Art, Michigan, USA; the Michigan Museum of Art UMMA, Michigan, USA; the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar; and the High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. In July 2013 he was awarded the honour of the National Order of the Cedar, for services to Lebanese culture.