Artist Profile: NAS alumni Arash Chehelnabi
:quality(82)/media/news/Arash-1-e1658359779607.jpeg)
Artist Profile: NAS alumni Arash Chehelnabi
Article by: Victoria Hynes. Photo: Arash Chehelnabi, Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Studio, photographed by Kate Holmes, courtesy the artist and Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre.
Visually and conceptually compelling, Chehelnabi’s deceptively simple paintings subconsciously play with the mind. Executed in a raw, almost childlike style, his practice involves a surrealist method of combining disparate motifs within the composition in order to unsettle or perplex the observer. Against the black walls of Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre’s exhibition space, his luminous paintings pop with colour. Upon canvases painted in flat cerulean blue, tangerine orange or a white lime wash, everyday objects hover and float.
A sparse, ghostly tree ascends from the middle of the ocean, surrounded by shimmering waves. Circular, balloon-like shapes float on the sea below a sunset horizon. A small peaked mountain range is contained within a blue cube. The images are peculiar, absurd, and surprising, challenging the audience’s perceptions of reality.
Latest News
Thursday 09 July 2026
:quality(82)/media/100425_Dobell-Prize_Kristen-Sharpwinner_Rosemary-Lee_001_Peter-Morgan-2048x1477.jpg)
Thursday 09 July 2026
Applications are now open for The 25th Dobell Drawing Prize. The Dobell Drawing Prize is Australia’s leading prize for drawing, and an unparalleled celebration of technique, innovation and expanded practice. Presented at the National Art School in partnership with the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, this biennial exhibition continues to highlight the enduring relevance and changing role of dra…
Tuesday 30 June 2026
:quality(82)/media/exhibitions/260603_LRG_BabetteRobertson_01_0051-1.jpg)
Tuesday 30 June 2026
Please see below for current and forthcoming exhibitions and events featuring our staff and alumni. National Art School: Inherent Vice Inherent Vice is curated by NAS alum and current staff member Amelia Skelton, with curatorial support from Dr Elizabeth Pulie. The exhibition features NAS alumni Mitchell Davis, Drew Connor Holland and Sadie Whalen, alongside work by sessional lecturer Katy B …
Tuesday 30 June 2026
:quality(82)/media/news/Nick-Collerson-2026_Dithyramb_0384.jpg)
Tuesday 30 June 2026
Please see below for current and forthcoming exhibitions and events featuring our staff and alumni. Dr Carolyn McKenzie-Craig: Becoming Penguin (Act II) Head of Printmaking, Dr Carolyn McKenzie-Craig, presents Becoming Penguin (Act II) at PARKER Contemporary, Brisbane. The exhibition asks what it means to seek protection from a world that continues to decide who is seen, who is suspected, and w…