"The light of the Mediterranean is like no other—it is pure, bright, and alive. It floods the canvas and sets the colors dancing with joy."
— Henri Matisse
Galerie NIL presents Méditerranées, a summer group exhibition running from July 17 to August 23, 2025, exploring the Mediterranean not as a fixed place, but as an enduring source of artistic inspiration.
Bringing together seven contemporary artists, Méditerranées evokes the sea, light, and atmosphere of the region as a shared language through which personal visions emerge. This is not a political or historical commentary, but a poetic exploration—blending memory, myth, and individual experience into layered, expressive visual worlds.
Moroccan artist Nabil El Makhloufi’s paintings embody the Mediterranean as both a literal and symbolic passage. Through haunting depictions of boats and water, he captures the fragile tension of lives caught between worlds. His work reflects the sea’s role as a historical crossroads, revealing stories of displacement, hope, and transformation.
Simon Buret, based between France and Greece, fuses technical rigor with emotional depth. Working across disciplines, his richly textured compositions—made with grease pencil, coffee grounds, and other materials—offer contemplative spaces where themes of vulnerability, resilience, and change unfold.
French artist Anaïs Maar explores mythology and identity through vivid, layered scenes of hybrid figures and symbolic animals. Reflecting the Mediterranean’s dual nature, Maar describes her work as “like the Mediterranean Sea—at times calm as oil, at times full of fury; a delicate ebb and flow, rich with mythologies… A raging volcano beneath still waters.”
British artist Matt Macken presents figurative paintings from his Pyromaniac series, where vibrant, emotionally charged compositions reflect the psychological and ecological tensions of our time. In the context of the Mediterranean—one of the most climate-vulnerable regions—his work becomes a striking metaphor for rising heat, environmental fragility, and the derision that often meets global inaction.
Belgian expressionist Gommaar Gilliams creates dreamlike paintings where abstraction and symbolism intertwine. His fresco-like surfaces give rise to celestial and mythic figures, evoking universal feelings of longing, memory, and transcendence.
Greek artist Dimitris Gketsis draws on his country’s mythological legacy to build immersive, contemporary narratives. His works blend ancient symbols with modern expression, inviting viewers to reconsider the fluidity of collective memory.
British-Iraqi artist Malik Thomas creates paintings and fiber works that interweave personal memory and cultural heritage. On hand-dyed fabrics, his layered compositions explore harmony and chaos, examining themes of purification, resilience, and reclamation.
Méditerranées offers a rich and poetic vision of the Mediterranean as a space of light, myth, emotion, and transformation—inviting viewers to experience its mystery through seven contemporary voices.
