Nadine Khalil

Beirut

Writer and Editor at Freelance

I write, edit and pontificate on all things art-related for @canvastweet @oculaart

Articles

The Mine opens a solo exhibition by Iranian-American artist Hadieh Shafie

1 month ago | artdaily.com | Nadine Khalil

DUBAI.- The Mine is presenting Resonant Turns, a solo exhibition by Iranian-American artist Hadieh Shafie, held in Warehouse 46 at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai. Hadieh Shafies practice is a process-driven contemplation that uses ink, paint, and paper as material for works that abstract text into form, evoking a spectrum of optical perspectives. Her reliefs comprise circular or cone-shaped scrolls inscribed with Farsi poetry and her own writing in acts of concealment, fragmentation, and distortion.
Must-See: Threading Resistance Through Palestinian Embroidery

Feb 14, 2025 | frieze.com | Nadine Khalil

This review is part of a series of Must-See shows, in which a writer delivers a snapshot of a current exhibition Showcasing women’s weaving traditions in Palestine as a living, material culture, Hayy Jameel’s latest exhibition, ‘Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine’, forms an ‘imperfect chronology’, according to curator Rachel Dedman, whose work with textiles from the region spans a decade. Indeed, with the exhibition's loose structure of dress clusters, the devil is in the details.
Sharjah Biennial 16: sprawling emirate-wide exhibition regains its edge

Feb 12, 2025 | theartnewspaper.com | Dale Berning Sawa |Gareth Harris |Aimee Dawson |Nadine Khalil

Given the contemporary biennial sprawl—hundreds of artists, even more artworks—curators understandably often opt for short titles. These are loose umbrella terms for a deluge of art-making: casually evocative, rarely foundational. Read the full 18-line titular poem for Sharjah Biennial 16, which opened on 6 February, though, and something altogether more compelling—more urgent—takes hold.
Inside Beirut’s Interdesign Building, a retrospective about architect Khalil Khouri filled gaps in Lebanon’s collective memory

Oct 2, 2024 | archpaper.com | Nadine Khalil

It’s not been a good summer for cultural tourism in Lebanon. Expats, urged by their embassies, have been flocking out of the country since July due to recent political assassinations, war with Israel, and the deadly attack by Mossad where pagers and cell phones exploded. We Design Beirut, a new 4-day multi-site exhibition which took place last May, and the effervescent design culture it garnered, stood in stark contrast to the Lebanon of today.
A Suite of New Exhibitions in the Baltics Examines the Art Scene’s Complex Past

Sep 9, 2024 | news.artnet.com | Nadine Khalil

As the art world increasingly claims to represent marginalized voices, there has been a rising trend towards regional narratives in big biennials. While this provides context to non-Eurocentric discourses it also fetishizes them, especially when it comes to the Global South. In the Baltic countries of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, the art scene articulates a complex regionalism, one that considers a relationship embedded with Europe and post-Soviet identities.
Performance Artist Miles Greenberg on Pushing His Body to Its Limit

Jul 26, 2024 | news.artnet.com | Nadine Khalil

Sitting in a room with two 20-somethings last month in London, I realized that radical performance art is still very much alive. We were at Albion Jeune, a new gallery in Fitzrovia, in London, founded by the 26-year-old Lucca Hue-Williams, who grew up around performance artists like Vito Acconci and has studied animal works by artists in China, many of them in underground performance.
Moving the Dial on Emirati Performance Art

May 3, 2024 | frieze.com | Nadine Khalil

I’m often disappointed by the nature of performance art in the UAE, which is largely treated as window dressing for exhibitions rather than as a practice in its own right. However, ‘In Real Time’ at NYUAD Art Gallery – co-curated by executive director Maya Allison and recently appointed curator Dugyu Demir – is a promising exception.
Venice Biennale

Apr 18, 2024 | ocula.com | Sam Gaskin |Nadine Khalil

Established by the Venetian City Council as a national art exhibition in 1895, the biennial exhibition has expanded since 1907 to include 29 foreign pavilions and collateral events in addition to its Central Pavilion presentation. Today, the Biennale attracts artists, critics, and enthusiasts to the floating city. Featuring a diverse array of artistic mediums, including painting, sculpture, film, and performance, the Biennale serves as a vibrant platform for cultural exchange and dialogue.
Design Space AlUla pushes the boundaries of contemporary design practices from local perspective

Mar 13, 2024 | wallpaper.com | Nadine Khalil

Saudi’s oasis region of AlUla, a county the size of Belgium, has been a big part of the country’s cultural tourism drive, notably with Desert X AlUla, a Coachella import looking to showcase site-specific forms of land art against an ancient backdrop of sandstone cliffs and tombs peppered with petroglyphs. In the field of design, the focus has shifted from these ambitious responses to the landscape to a deeper look at what can be done with AlUla’s own histories of craft.
In Vienna, Emerging Galleries Are Making International Waves

Sep 21, 2023 | artsy.net | Nadine Khalil

Art MarketNadine KhalilInstallation view of “GLOSSARY, Curated By Sacha Craddock” at Galerie Kandlhofer, 2023. Photo by Manuel Carreon Lopez. Courtesy of Gallery Kandlhofer. Vienna’s claim to international art world fame in the 20th century may have been the blood-soaked happenings of Viennese Actionism, a brief and radical movement in the 1960s and ’70s. But today, things are changing.