San Gimignano
Beijing
Les Moulins
Habana
Roma
Sao Paulo
Paris
Dubai
The self-taught renowned artist, Moataz Nasr took the decision to follow his passion and abandon his initial career path in Economics. It started with a studio in Old Cairo after moving from his hometown, Alexandria. Nasr gained local recognition marked by many awards before breaking into the International art scene in 2001, notably winning the Grand Prix at the 8th International Cairo Biennial. Since then, he has participated in large international exhibitions like the Venice, Seoul, Sao Paulo, and Bogota Biennials. Today he is considered one of the greatest representatives of pan-Arab contemporary art.Showing complex cultural processes currently underway in the Islamic world, his work surpasses idiosyncrasies and geographical limits and voices the worries and torments of the African continent. The feeling of belonging to a specific geopolitical and cultural context and the need to maintain a link with his homeland are key elements of the artist's life and work. Moataz Nasr believes that art and life are inseparable. Moataz Nasr is considered one of the most important representatives of pan-Arab contemporary art. Together with artists of his generation, he founded Townhouse in Cairo in 1998, the first independent exhibition space in the country’s history. The victory of the Grand Prize of the 8th Cairo International Biennale in 2001 established him as an international artist. Group shows include “The See Is My Land”, curated by Francesco Bonomi and Emanuela Mazzonis (MAXXI, Rome, 2013); "Arab Contemporary Architecture, Culture, and Identity" (Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, 2014); “Metropolis. Afriques Capitales”, curated by Simon Njami (La Villette, Paris, 2017); “Senses of Time: Video and Film-based Arts of Africa” (LACMA and The Smithsonian National Museum of African Arts, Washington, 2017); Yinchuan Biennale, curated by Marco Scotini (Yinchuan, 2018), International Contemporary Art Exhibition, curated by Mazdak Faiznia (Yerevan, 2018).In 2017, he was selected to represent Egypt during the 57th Venice Biennale. The work presented in the Egyptian Pavilion was an immersive installation showing the original film "The Mountain". In 2018, Nasr has been invited to take part in "Abu Dhabi Art 2018 Beyond" and create a site-specific work in the historic sites in Al Ain. In 2019 he was invited to take part in the Havana Biennal and participated in Fiac Hors Les Murs with the installation of the work Sun Boat at Les Tuileries. Among the most recent solo shows are, in 2019 "The Liminal Space", in Castel del Monte, Andria, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva, and "Paradise Lost" in Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, curated by Simon Njami. In 2021 Moataz Nars won the "AVIFF-Art Film Festival" Cannes Award with the original film "The Mountain". In 2023, he participated with an imponent work at the inaugural edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale: Awwal Bait.
2024
Bottle Neck, Galleria Continua, Dubai, UAE
2023
Retour d'Égypt, Galleria Continua, Paris, FR
2022
Tectonic Shift, Spostamento Tettonico, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, IT
2021
Delicate Balance, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, USA
2019
Paradise Lost, curated by Simon Njami, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, IT
The liminal space, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva, Castel del Monte, IT
2017
The Mountain, Egyptian Pavilion, 57th Biennale of Venice, Venice, IT
2016
Avalanche, Galleria Continua, Les Moulins, FR
2014
Untitled, Art Talks gallery, Cairo, EG
2013
The Journey of a Griffin, curated by Ilaria Mariotti, Villa Pacchiani, Santa Croce sull’Arno, IT
Harmonia, Centro Espositivo per le Arti Contemporanee SMS, San Michele degli Scalzi, Pisa, IT
Tectonic Shift, Galleria Continua, Le Moulin, FR
2012
Collision, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, UAE
Moataz Nasr / Hidden Landscape, Akershus Fortress, Oslo, NO
The Tunnel, Galleria Continua, Beijing, CN
2011
In a Nutshell, Selma Feriani Gallery, London, UK
Moataz Nasr -The Maze (The People Want the Fall of the Regime), MAP, Mobile Art Production, Gothenburg, SE
Réactions en chaîne, Château de Blandy-les-Tours, Blandy, FR
The Other Side of the Mirror, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, IT
2008
A Memory Fills with Holes, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, IT
Cairo walk, Sultan Gallery, Sabhan, KW
2006
Moataz Nasr, The Khalid Shoman Foundation, Darat al Funun, Amman, JO
Entrapment, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, IT
2005
The Echo, Touchstones Art Gallery, Rochdale, UK
2004
Moataz Nasr, Falaki Gallery, The American University in Cairo, EG
Moataz Nasr, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, EG
2003
Moataz Nasr, Franco Riccardo Gallery, Napoli, IT
Moataz Nasr, Espace-La Bodega Gallery, Cairo, EG
2001
Moataz Nasr, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, EG
2000
Moataz Nasr, Egyptian Cultural Center in Paris, FR
1999
Moataz Nasr, Al Ahram House Gallery, London, UK
Moataz Nasr, Akhnaton Gallery, Centre of Fine Art, Cairo, EG
2023
From The Ground Up, Galleria Continua, Dubai, UAE
Awwal Bait, Islamic Arts Biennale, Jeddah, KSA
2022
In the Heat, Galleria Continua, Dubai, UAE
2021
Truc à Faire, curated by JR, Galleria Continua, Paris, FR
Ithra - Seeing & Perceiving - King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture - Ithra, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Biennial of Macao, curated by Qiu Zhijie, Macao
Never Cross the Same River Twice, International Contemporary Film Performance, Curated by Kisito Assangni, Athens, Grece
Forever is Now, Curated by Simon Watson, Cairo, Egypt
2020
Sculpture Projects, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Marrakech, MA
Orientalismos / Orientalism, IVAM – Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencia, ES
2019
13 Bienal de la Habana, Habana, CU
Do ut Do, curated by Andrea Viliani, Parco Archeologico di Pompei, Pompei, IT
Fiac Hors Les Murs, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, FR
2018
2nd Yinchuan Biennale, curated by Marco Scotini, Yinchuan, CH
International Contemporary Art Exhibition ICAE, Yaravan, Armenia, AM
The Fabric of Felicity, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, RUS
Persona Grata, Palais de la Porte Dorée - Musée National de l'histoire de l'immigration, Paris, FR
Abu Dhabi Art - Beyond, Al Jahili Fort, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2017
Ciao Italia, curated by Stéphane Mourlane and Dominique Païni, Musée National de l’Historie de l’Immigration, Paris, FR
Metropolis, Afriques Capitales, curated by Simon Njami, La Villette, Paris, FR
2016
D’une Méditerranée, l’autre, curated by Francesco Bonami, Emanuela Mazzonis, Pascal Neveux and Ricardo Vazquez, FRAC Provence Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Hôtel des Arts, Toulon, FR
Essentiel paysage, Musée d’Art Contemporain Africain, Foundation Alliances, Marrakesh, MA
Icastic-Anything to Declare?, Camera di Commercio, Prato, IT
Senses of Time: Video and Film-based Arts of Africa, curated by Karen Milbourne, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art, Washington US
Dak'Art - Biennale de l'Art Africain Contemporain, Dakar, SN
Da Sud a Sud, Fondazione Corriere della Sera, Bari, IT
A place in Time, curated by Helen Pheby, Winter Sculpture Fair, Nirox, Krugersdorp, ZA
2015
Follia Continua!, Le CENTQUATRE, Paris, FR
Icastica, curated by Fabio Migliorati, Arezzo, IT
The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists, curated by Simon Njami, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, US
All The World’s a Mosque, Ancient Theatre of Carthage, Carthage, TN
Too early, too late: Middle East and Modernity, Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Bologna, IT
Forum européen Arts et Territoires, Abbaye de Noirlac, Bruère-Allichamps, FR
2014
The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists, curated by Simon Njami, SCAD – Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, US and MMK, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, DE
Galleria Continua at Le Bristol, Le Bristol Hotel, Paris, FR
“Made by... Feito por Brasileiros”, a creative invasion, Cidade Matarazzo, Sao Paolo, BR
Park in Progress 11, Nicosia, CY
Easts – Contemporary Visions. Villa Ada Meets the World, Multicultural Festival, Rome, IT
The sea is my land - artisti dal Mediterraneo, curated by Francesco Bonami, Emanuela Mazzonis, Triennale, Milan, IT and MAXXI, Rome, IT
Arab Contemporary - Architecture, Culture and Identity, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, DK
2013
Terms and Conditions, Singapore Art Museum, SG
Tappeti estremi, da Timbuctù all’Arte Contemporanea, Fondazione 107, Turin, IT
Video(works), Athr Gallery, Jeddah, UAE
In peace and with compation. 5th Caravan Festival of the Arts, Cairo, EG and London, UK
Métamorphose, FITE - Festival International des Textiles Extraordinaires, Hue, VN
Every Day Matters, Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen, DK
Turbulences II, curated by David Rosenberg and Pierre Sterckx, Boghossian Foundation - Villa Empain and Espace culturel Louis Vuitton, Bruxelles, BE
Pen to Paper, Al Madad Foundation, Jeddah, SA
Cadavre exquis, suite méditerranéenne, Musée Granet and Marseille Provence 2013, Aix-en-Provence, FR
2012
Long Live Free Art!, curated by Fatenn Mostafa, Art Talks Egypt, Cairo, EG
In Spite of it All, curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE
Fictions and dissentions, curated by Firat Arapoglu, 3rd International Çanakkale Biennial, Çanakkale, TR
Par Nature, Le CENTQUATRE, Paris, FR
Métamorphose, FITE - Festival International des Textiles Extraordinaires, Musée Bargoin, Clermont-Ferrand, FR
Where is the Time?, Foundation IZOLYATSIA - Platform for Cultural Initiatives, Donetsk, UK
Mediterraneo: incontri o conflitti?, Palazzo Gargasole, Gagliano del Capo, IT
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, IT
Neon. La materia luminosa dell’arte, curated by David Rosenberg and Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, MACRO, Rome, IT
Arab Express, The Latest Art from the Arab World, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, JP
Revolutionary Bodies, L'animal a l'esquena, Celrà, Girona, ES
Dak'Art, African Contemporary Art Biennale, Dakar, SN
Intrecci, curated by Alessandra Bagnera, Museo delle Trame Mediterranee, Gibellina, IT
Moataz Nasr-Loris Cecchini, Studio Carlotta Pesce, Bologna, IT
A bordo del Cuore d’Oro, curated by Julia Draganovic, 7th edition of Bologna Art First - Arte Fiera, Palazzo d'Accursio, Bologna, IT
Histories of Now: Six artists from Cairo, Museum School and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, US
2011
Resistance, DARB 1718, Cairo, EG
Dancing on the Edge Festival, Amsterdam, NL
Miniatures, 14th Islamic Art Festival, Sharjah Museum, Sharjah, UAE
FIAC hors les murs, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, FR
Images Affranchies, Banque du Maroc, Marrakesh, MA
Machine-RAUM festival, curated by Beral Madra and Moataz Nasr, Vejle Art Museum, Spinderhallerne and Bryggen, DK
A Rock and a Hard Place, Old Intersections-Make it New, 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, State Museum of Contemporary Art (SMCA), Thessaloniki, GR
The Mystical Self, curated by Cecilia Freschini, ARTVerona and [.BOX], Milan, IT
Revolutionary Bodies, Asinara and Berchidda, IT
Resistance, Amsterdam, NL
2010
Fames: Family Vaudeville, curated by Power Ekroth, DARB 1718, Cairo, EG
Sphères 3, Galleria Continua, Le Moulin, Boissy-le-Chatel, FR
21st Century: Art in the first Decade, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, AU
Time After Time: Actions and Interactions, curated by Taraneh Hemami with Valerie Imus and Maysoun Wazwaz, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, US
Hiwar, DARB 1718, Cairo, EG
Rencontres PICHA, 2nd Lubumbashi Biennale, Lubumbashi, CG
Miraggi, Castelli in terra di Brindisi e Taranto, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva and Giusy Caroppo, Brindisi, IT
GEO-graphics. A map of ART practices in AFRICA, past and present, curated by David Adjaye, Anne-Marie Bouttiaux (RMCA), Koyo Kouoh, Nicola Setari, Bozar - Centre for Fine Art, Bruxelles, BE
Idoles, Galleria Continua, Le Moulin, FR
Un peu, beaucoup, passionnement…, Galerie Alice Mogabgab, Beirut, LB
Barakat: The Gift, Stux Gallery, New York, US
Hiwar / Discussion, Galerie Le Violon Bleu, Sidi Bou Said, TN
Il piacere del collezionista, Finstral, Unterinn am Ritten, IT
African Marketplace, International Film Festival, Rotterdam, NL
Light/Sound/VideoNight, Finstral, Unterinn am Ritten, IT
2009
Taswir, Islamische Bildwelten und moderne, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, DE
Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki International Fair, Thessaloniki, GR
Made in Afrika, National Museum, Nairobi, KE
Amnesia, Nairobi Arts Trust and Contemporary Art of East Africa (CCAEA), Nairobi, KE
[un]defined09 - Merano Arts Festival, Caserma F. Rossi, Merano, IT
Reflections of Africa, MAMA - National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Algiers, DZ
The African Contemporary Art, Exhibition center, Algiers, DZ
Tawassol – Contact, Artericambi, Verona, IT
Festival International d’Art Video de Casablanca, Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines de Ben M’Sik, Casablanca, MA
Mediterranean, Palazzo Rospigliosi, Rome, IT
Traversées, Bab Rouah and Bab Elkbir, Rabat, MA
Coexistencias / Coexistences, 2nd Canary Islands Biennale, Centro de Arte La Regenta, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, ES
MidEast Cut, The Danish Film Institute & Backyard Gallery, Copenhagen, DK
Shoes, Ebdaa Art Gallery, Cairo, EG
2008
Al Madina, Ebdaa Art Gallery, Mohandessin, EG
Traversées, Darb 1718, Cairo, EG
Resilence, Galleria Continua, Le Moulin, FR
Les Recontres Internationales de la Photo, Centre Cervantes, Fez, MA
Traversées (Crossings), Grand Palais, Paris, FR
11 Atists from Africa Remix – fringe touring exhibition, Mbabane, SZ; The Cultural center of Maputo, Maputo, MZ; Alliance Francaise, Pretoria; Alliance Francaise, Port Elizabeth; Alliance Francaise, Johannesburg; The cultural center of Windhoek, Windhoek, ZA.
2007
Dans la ville et au-delà, Recontres Africaines de la Photographie de Bamako 2007, Paris, FR
11 artists from Africa Remix – fringe touring exhibition, Maseru LS, Durban, Cape Town, ZA
Machine-RAUM – a biennale for video art and digital culture, Vejle Art Museum, Vejle, DK
The Sneeze, Durban Art gallery, Durban, ZA
L’invention de la mémoire, Espace Jeumon, Saint-Denis, RE
24th Memorial NADEŽDA PETROVIĆ, Belgrade, RS
AFRICA REMIX, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
A.B.O., curated by Achille Bonito Oliva, Artefiera, Bologna, IT
2006
Another World. Bamako 2005, La Centrale Electrique - European Center for Contemporary Art, Bruxelles, BE
AFRICA REMIX, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, SE
Un autre monde – 6e édition de la photographie de Bamako, BnF - Bibliothèque National de France, Paris, FR
L'image révélée : de l'orientalisme à l'art contemporain, Musee de la Ville de Tunis, Palais Kheireddine, Tunis, TN
3rd Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2006, JP
AFRICA REMIX, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, JP
Cross-Currents: Water as a Metaphor for (African) Identity?, Tufts University Art Gallery, Aidekman Arts Center, Medford, US
Ghosts of Self and State, Monash University Museum of Art, Monash, Melbourne, AU
2005
Bamako Biennale for African Photography, ML
2nd International Triennale of Contemporary Art, Yokohama, JP
7th Sharjah Biennale, UAE
AFRICA REMIX, Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR
Mediterranean Encounters, various locations, IT
Forming with Light, Palace of Art, Opera House, Cairo, EG
4x4, Artists Space, Broadway, New York, US
Imagining the Book, Alexandria Library, EG
Loose Your Identity, Kunstverein Kreis, Ludwigsburg, DE
French Cultural Center, Damascus, SY
AFRICA REMIX, Hayward Gallery, London, UK
2004
La Forma delle Nuvole - Arte all’Arte 9, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva and James Putnam, Arte Continua, Montalcino, San Gimignano, Poggibonsi, Colle Val D’Elsa, Siena, Buonconvento, IT
25th Sao Paolo Biennale, Sao Paolo, BR
Busan Biennale, Busan, KP
AFRIKA REMIX, Museum Kunst Palast, Dusseldorf, DE
Dak’art, 7th Dakar Biennale, Dakar, SN
Le Opera e I giorni, Triennale, Certosa di Padula, IT
Milly Pozzi Arte Contemporanea, Como, IT
Sneeze 80x80, Athens, GR
Castello di Trani, Bari, IT
2003
50th Biennale di Venezia, Venice, IT
Espacio Arte Contemporaneo Camargo, ES
Disorientation, House of World Cultures, Berlin, DE
2002
Dak’art, 6th Dakar Biennale, SN
Unplugged, Arts Electronica Festival, Linz, AT
Video Marathon, Chisinau, MD
Galleria Civica d'Arte Contemporanea Premio Suzzara, Suzzara, IT
You Can Touch, Espace Karim Francis, Cairo, EG
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
8th International Cairo Biennale. Opera Arts Palace, Egypt. Awarded the Grand Prize
Participated with Martin McInally in Al Nitaq Festival, Downtown, Cairo, Egypt
2000
The Palm Tree, Mashrabeya Gallery, Cairo, EG
Group exhibition with Egyptian and Italian artists, Gezira Art Center, Cairo, EG
For Jerusalem, Hanager Opera House, Cairo, EG
La Bodega, Cairo, EG
5th Cairo International Biennale for Ceramics, Opera House Arts Palace, Cairo, EG
Nitaq Festival of Art, Downtown, Cairo, EG
1999
27th National Exhibition for Fine Arts, Opera House Arts Palace, Cairo, EG
Small Artworks at the Center of Art Cairo, EG
1998
26th National Exhibition for Fine Arts, Akhnaton Center of Art, Cairo, EG
The First Show for Artists over 35 years and honored, Museum of Fine Arts (Hussein Sobhy), Alexandria, EG
4th Cairo International Biennale for Ceramics, Center of Art, Cairo, EG
The Days of Kom Ghorab, Hanager Gallery, Cairo, EG
1997
25th National Exhibition for Fine Arts, Center of Art, Cairo, EG
Heliorama, French Cultural Center, Heliopolis, Cairo, EG.
1996
24th National Exhibition for Fine Arts, Center of Art, Cairo, EG
1995
7th Salon of Youth, Center of Art, Cairo, EG
