Earlier this month, I had the pleasure to be at the opening of Nabil Nahas’ latest exhibit at the Ben Brown Fine Arts Gallery in Hong Kong. Nahas is a Lebanese painter, who splits his time between New York and Beirut.
Me, with gallery owner Ben Brown
Shirley Hiranand and, national artist of Lebanon, Nabil Nahas
Mica and Charmaine Lagman
I was fascinated by his talent, he gives thought to his works and executes them with much attention to detail. I told Nabil that every time that I looked at each piece, I would discover something new. This series is said to be inspired by marine life and much like the depths of the sea, there were depths to unravel in every painting. Best of all, he’s a warm and was accommodating enough to entertain a few questions for us.
Janthina and Taro Niggemann
PJ Pascual, with Filipino ambassador to Lebanon Joe Assad and wife Vicky
If you were to collaborate with a fashion brand, what would it be?
I would collaborate with Hermès.
Do you have a ritual, before starting on a work?
Absolutely: I have a few cups of espresso.
Do you have a favorite piece?
Yes many, it usually is the last piece I’m working on.
Any contemporary artist you saw recently who inspired you?
My favorite is Alex Katz who never seizes to astound me. Just amazing.
What is art?
A very concise question for a very vast answer. For me, its most significant aspect is [how it is] a visual record of the times we live in. For example, Impressionism coincided with the industrial revolution: Baudelaire, Bergson, Debussy, and Ravel.
