1-54 LONDON

NIL Gallery is pleased to participate in the 2025 edition of 1-54 London Art Fair, presenting works by Fathi Hassan, Alimi Adewale, Nabil El Makhloufi, and Girma Berta. Together, these artists engage with themes of identity, heritage, and transformation, offering layered reflections on the complexity of contemporary experience across Africa and its diasporas.

 

Fathi Hassan (Egyptian/Nubian, b. 1957) explores the endurance of language and cultural memory. Through abstract calligraphy and symbolic compositions, he reclaims the visual remnants of Nubian heritage, transforming lost scripts into meditations on history, displacement, and resilience.

 

Alimi Adewale (Nigerian, b. 1974) examines the poetics of urban life. His textured paintings and sculptural works capture the energy and contradictions of the city—its motion, intensity, and quiet humanity—revealing the delicate balance between modernity and tradition.

 

Nabil El Makhloufi (Moroccan, b. 1973) paints figures caught in transition, exploring the emotional terrain between belonging and movement. With restrained palettes and fluid brushwork, his works evoke introspection and the search for continuity in a shifting world.

 

Girma Berta (Ethiopian, b. 1990) brings a distinctly contemporary vision to photography. Combining painterly composition with digital precision, he captures the rhythm of African cities through vivid portraits that celebrate the beauty and resilience of everyday life.

 

Through these distinct yet interconnected practices, NIL Gallery highlights a shared commitment to reimagining identity through movement, memory, and material. At 1-54 London 2025, the gallery presents a dialogue that crosses geographies and generations—one that reflects the enduring vitality of contemporary African art.