Nima Nabavi
Born in Iran in 1978, Nima Nabavi is a self-taught artist based between Dubai and New York. His practice centers on geometric abstraction and its connection to the natural world, quantum processes, and psychedelic phenomena.
Drawing on an ever-expanding set of tools – ranging from the traditional to the technological – Nabavi creates grid-based compositions of elaborately layered, imagined ordered forms, inspired by his grandfather, who was a master geometric artist for over 50 years in Iran. Nabavi’s mathematical approach and repetitive numeric symbolism rely heavily on advanced planning, precise calculations, and self-developed methodologies to ensure the vital structural accuracy of each work. This contemplative execution of intricate geometries aims to build complexity out of simple forms and reveal the emergent harmony and inherent beauty that underlie the structure of our shared reality.
Selected solo exhibition include Sunrise at the Vortex, Dubai, UAE (2025); Visiting, Roswell Museum, New Mexico, USA (2023); 1,2,3, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2018).
Nabavi has participated in group exhibitions including Duality, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2023); Geometry and Art in The Modern Middle East, Misk Art Institute, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (2023); Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival – ‘Gradate’, Sharjah Museum of Art, Sharjah, UAE (2022); Ways of Seeing Abstraction - Works from the Deutsche Bank Collection, Palais Populaire, Berlin, Germany (2021); There is Fiction In The Space Between, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2020); Crafting Geometry: Abstract Art from South and West Asia, Sotheby’s, New York, USA (2020); Fragments, Yesterday and Today, Gateway, Abu Dhabi Art, Abu Dhabi, UAE (2019); Your Favorite Artist's Favorite Artist #2, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, USA (2019); Horizon, Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival, Sharjah, UAE (2018).
Nabavi’s work is part of private and public collections, including the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell, New Mexico, USA; Deutsche Bank Collection, Berlin, Germany; and Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, UAE.
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Nima Nabavi and Jason Seife
Duality 14 Nov 2023 - 5 Jan 2024The Third Line is pleased to announce Duality , featuring new works by artists Nima Nabavi and Jason Seife. Duality is a showing of two artists working together in symbiosis,...Read more -
NEGUS
yasiin bey 25 Mar - 5 May 2021The Third Line and Sole bring yasiin bey's audio and visual installation, Negus, to the Middle East for the first time. Negus is a 28-minute listening experience consisting of 8...Read more -
THERE IS FICTION IN THE SPACE BETWEEN
23 Mar - 30 Jul 2020The Third Line is pleased to present There Is Fiction In The Space Between , a group exhibition celebrating the gallery’s fifteenth anniversary. This exhibition draws on the breadth of...Read more -
1, 2, 3
Nima Nabavi 24 Sep - 3 Nov 2018The Third Line is pleased to present 1, 2, 3 , the first solo exhibition of Nima Nabavi at the gallery. Influenced by geometric abstraction, numeric symbolism and their connection...Read more
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Jason Seife & Nima Nabavi look back on collaborative show “Duality” and discuss friendship in Art
Cynthia Jreige, Jdeed Magazine , January 9, 2024 -
From Dubai to Miami, two artists unite to explore ideas of infinity (and beyond)
Maan Jalal, The National News, November 28, 2023 -
Looking Through to Some Greater Grid: Nima Nabavi: Visiting at the Roswell Museum
Hills Snyder, Southwest Contemporary, February 27, 2023 -
Nima Nabavi Wins the First-Ever Bvlgari Contemporary Art Award
Jana Shakhashir, Savoir Flair, February 11, 2022 -
Meet the Iranian-American Winner of the Very First Bulgari Contemporary Art Award in Dubai
Nitya Chablani, Vogue, February 10, 2022
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Nima Nabavi | SIGNAL | ART JAMEEL DIGITAL FACADE COMMISSION
ARTIST NEWS April 15, 2025‘Signal’ by Nima Nabavi was installed on the facade of Jameel Arts Centre on April 15, 2025, in line with Dubai's Art Week. A new...Read more -
Artist Fundraiser | Médecins Sans Frontières
ARTIST NEWS November 14, 2024Leading voices from across the field of contemporary art join forces to raise funds for essential humanitarian aid for Palestine through an exhibition and major...Read more