Nadir Zarour

Nadir Zarour, born in 1977, is a painter and sculptor, currently working and living in London.

Born and raised in Algiers, Zarour inherited a passion for art from his father, a skilled woodworker who immersed his son in craft from a young age. It wasn’t, however, until his adult years that Zarour could fully dedicate himself to refining his artistic talents, particularly in wood sculpture and painting.

After settling in the UK in the early 2000s, Zarour juggled multiple jobs and family commitments while quietly refining his skills as a wood sculptor and painter. However, a pivotal moment occurred in 2017 when he was diagnosed with lung cancer, despite never having smoked. This health scare profoundly altered his outlook on life. Confronting mortality and the grueling effects of medical treatments, Zarour felt compelled to prioritize what he cherished most: his art.

In his paintings, Zarour eloquently explores themes of movement and dispersion, drawing inspiration from the migrations and journeys of diverse peoples, whether within a city or across continents. In a world marked by overpopulation, bustling crowds, and the frenetic pace of contemporary urban life, individuals can often feel simultaneously overwhelmed and isolated. This sentiment is particularly poignant for someone like Zarour, who, as an immigrant in a foreign country, at times grapples with the challenges of assimilation and belonging – an experience only heightened by his battle with cancer.

The painter’s urgency to connect with others have thus increased, and amidst this complex tapestry of experiences, Zarour now seeks to convey a message of resilience and unity, celebrating the boundless energy and richness that stem from diverse gatherings and cross-cultural exchanges.

Using bold colours and filling his works in a manner of horror-vacui, Zarour’s paintings bustle with energy. By incorporating freehand techniques in his abstract pieces and in his more figurative works, he infuses his pieces with dynamic variations, breathing life into the structured movements he initially outlines. Through emphasizing intertwining and diverging lines and multitudes of figures on his canvas, the artist endeavours to symbolically underscore both the displacement and interconnectedness that take place between people.