Nabil Saouabi

• Biography

  Born in Jendouba (Tunisia) in 1972, Nabil Saouabi obtained in 2002 a Master in Visual Arts and a PhD in science and technical arts at the Institute of Fine Arts in Tunis in 2013 where he currently teaches drawing and is responsible of the print workshop. Since his first solo exhibition which was a great success, he has participated in numerous exhibitions in Tunisia and abroad, including in biennials such as Dak'art, Beijing, and the 5^th International Biennial of Engraving of Île de France. His works are part of prestigious private collections in Tunisia, France, Germany and the Middle East as well as of public collections such as the Ministry of Culture in Tunisia.

  Since 2001, Nabil Saouabi creates an imaginary world in which a central character emerges constantly in his drawings, paintings and engravings. It is a thick, bald and prehistoric man assuming the role of the painter. It is a world which constantly oscillates between an external and internal (his studio) “mise en scène” that provides a dramatic dimension to his paintings. Nabil Saouabi explores various mediums such as drawing, engraving which plays a major role in his work, and more recently video. In 2011, he moves to a new pictorial approach which explores current political events through a body of iconic “political” images. His vision recounts the modern history in the Arab world reflecting the tragic reality which would remain indecipherable without artistic expression. The “representation” of the “political” image has imposed itself in the process of the “mise en abîme” and the “mise en scène” of the artist’s studio in which varied micro-readings are all much reflexive games on the act of painting. Nabil Saouabi lives and works in Tunis.

  Exhibitions

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