At the Lebanese Pavilion of the 61st Venice Biennale, artist Nabil Nahas transforms painting into an immersive encounter between nature, geometry and the universe.
For Nahas, matter is never simply material. A stone, a branch, a starfish or a fragment of glass can become part of a much larger visual language—one that connects the microscopic with the cosmic and the personal with the universal.
His fascination with structure began early in Beirut, where ancient Lebanese landscapes became an important source of inspiration. The monumental stones of Byblos and Baalbek introduced him to ideas of balance, geometry and construction, while his childhood surrounded by art encouraged an instinctive relationship with painting. He began creating his own works at just ten years old, initially captivated by flowers and the natural world.
Over the decades, Nahas’s practice evolved between two seemingly opposite impulses: precise geometric abstraction and spontaneous, organic expression. Rather than choosing between them, he allowed both languages to develop alongside one another. Dripping paint, fractal structures, organic forms and intricate geometry gradually became part of the same visual universe.
Nature remains at the heart of this exploration. His recurring use of starfish, for example, transforms a simple marine form into a symbol of structure, movement and regeneration. His experiments with Murano glass further expanded this relationship with material, bringing together natural forms, craftsmanship and even fragments of waste collected from Beirut’s shores.
This constant dialogue between control and discovery reaches a new scale with Don’t Get Me Wrong (2026), Nahas’s installation for the Lebanese Pavilion. Commissioned by the Lebanese Visual Art Association and curated by Dr Nada Ghandour, the work brings together geometric abstraction, fractal patterns, spirals and references to Lebanon’s landscape.
Cedar and olive trees evoke the country’s deep roots, while spirals inspired by Sufi mysticism invite a more introspective reading. The installation becomes more than an abstract composition; it reflects a Lebanon defined by complexity, contradiction and resilience.
Nahas’s work ultimately asks us to look beyond the surface—to recognise that the same patterns can exist in a fragment of matter, a tree, a landscape or a galaxy. At the Lebanese Pavilion, this idea becomes a powerful reflection on identity itself: rooted in Lebanon, yet reaching far beyond its borders.
The Pavilion of Lebanon is located at the Arsenale during the 61st Venice Biennale.
