Biography
Joas Nebe, born in 1968 in Hamburg, Germany, is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Staufen, Germany. Working primarily with video art, collages on paper combined with gouaches and drawings, Nebe’s work is best known for its innovative combination of traditional art techniques with digital media. His artistic practice blends elements of literature, nature, and technology, creating visually arresting pieces that challenge viewers to engage with profound psychological and philosophical questions.
Nebe’s subject matter explores complex communication frameworks, particularly the sender-receiver model, through which he addresses psychological and philosophical implications in his art. Characterized by a thoughtful approach to multimedia expression, his work reflects his academic background, holding a diploma in Psychology and Media Science from the University of Hamburg, obtained in 1998. Complementing his formal education, Nebe also trained at a private art school where he learned diverse techniques such as egg tempera painting, woodcut print, and gouache in 1995. Among his most significant projects are The Room Project, The MTA Project, and Leaving a Message the Inefficient Way, all of which are video series that further his explorations into human connection and the nuances of language.
Joas Nebe has been nominated as “Artist to Watch” by AlTiba9 Gallery (2024) and one of “55 Artist to Watch” 2024 and 2025 by Florence Contemporary Gallery, and he received the 5th International Prize Leonardo da Vinci and Prize Michelangelo, The Genius of Italy (both 2023) among other awards.
Joas Nebe has exhibited widely, including NORTH SIDE at Aedra Fine Arts in Atlanta, Georgia (2023), Brave New World at K-Gold Temporary Gallery in Lesvos, Greece, and Hypnotic Frames at the Museum Tarii Crisurilor in Oradea, Romania. His work has been acquired by the van den Ende collection in Amsterdam, as well as various national and international private collections. Notable participations include the EDAF-European Digital Art Fair in the Metaverse (2022), the “Climate Change Cartoons” at the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban (2011), and multiple editions of Madatac in Madrid. Nebe’s work has also been featured at international venues such as Les Instants Video in Cairo and Zendai MOMA in Shanghai.
CV
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2025
Joas Nebe, Nudes, Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Mumbai, India
2017
Joas Nebe – Video Works On Nature, UTCL Gallery, Highland Park, Michigan, USA
2016
Encyclopedic – Joas Nebe, Plateau Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
The Warrior Empath, Yellow Cube Gallery, Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Paris, France
Parasitó, Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Mumbai, India
Le Rupture de Desir, Yellow Cube Gallery, Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Paris, France
“Resolution”, Aedra Fine Arts, Jersey City, NJ, USA
2024
Reflections, Flash #17, Decagon Gallery, New York, USA
Overstory, Earth Gallery, London, UK
North Side, Aedra Fine Arts, Atlanta, GA, USA
Flowers, Biddle Brothers, London, UK
2023
Transformations, Starta Arta Gallery, New York, USA
Sidewalk Video Gallery, Fountain Street Gallery, Boston, MA, USA
Interferences, MADS Gallery, Milan, Italy
2022
Endings – Time Machine, Momentum Gallery, Krakow, Poland
Reframing Recovery, VisArt Studio 156, Rockville, MD, USA
No Longer Valid, Momentum Gallery, Krakow, Poland
2021
On Media, Signals And Connections, Space Millepiani, Rome, Italy
Athens Digital Arts Festival – Hybrid Edition, Athens, Greece
2020
Windows Into The World: Video, Chico Art Center, Chico, CA, USA
Manners Of Speaking – E Korero Ana Ngawha Katauki, Geoff Wilson Gallery, Whangarei, New Zealand
2019
Strategies For + Against Architecture, We Open Space, Vienna, Austria
2018
Macau International Video Art Festival, Art For All Society (AFA), Orient Foundation, Macau, China
2015
Videoformes 2015, Festival International d´arts numerique, 30e edition, Clermont-Ferrand, France
2014
Videoformes @ Ca va faire Boom´, Boom Structure, Clermont-Ferrand, France
Madatac 6 -Contemporary Festival of New Media Arts & Advanced Audio Visual Technologies, Centro, Madrid, Spain
2013
Madatac En El Festival Coruna Mayuscula, A Coruña, Spain
2012
Gesichtsverlust-Be(com)ing (In)visible, Kunstverein Viernheim, Germany
Sustain Our Africa (SOA), V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa
Hot Water Art And Climate Change, UCT Hiddingh Campus, 31 Orange Street, Cape Town, South Africa
25th Festival Les Instants Video, Bibliotheca Alexandrina Arts Center, Alexandria, Egypt
Art fairs
2024
Justapose Art Fair, represented by Lacuna Festivals, Aarhus, Denmark
2022
EDAF – European Digital Art Fair, represented by V-Art, Metaverse
2021
The Virtual Art Fair, London, UK
Selected Collections
Van den Ende Collection, Hamburg, Germany
Puddle of Dream No.7, ACOA, Alicante, Spain
Philosophical Cartoons, Deutsches Institut für Animationsfilm, Dresden, Germany
Awards
2023
5th International Prize Leonardo da Vinci (winner), Foundation Effetto Arte/Palermo, Italy
1st International Prize Michelangelo (winner), Foundation Effetto Arte/Palermo, Italy
2021
1st International Conceptual Art Biennale – Image Deconstruction,
Audience Award (winner), Association for Visual, Performing and other Arts, Riga, Lativa
Residencies
2021
Rubb3r Instagram Takeover Residency, Rubber Collective, London, UK
Do It Your Way Instagram Takeover Residency, Do It Your Way team, London, UK
2018
Social Media Residency, Peripheral Forms, Portland, OR, USA
2017
Residency By Correspondence, The Arts Territory Exchange Program, London, UK
Grants
2017
M5 Arts Grant, M5 Arts, Sacramento, CA, USA
Selected Press
Joas Nebe, “Midnight Zone & Scream Machine” in Titan Contemporary Journal (2025) at https://www.titancontemporary.net/single-post/midnight-zone-scream-machine, consulted on 16 July, 2025.
Vedica Art Gallery, “Joas Nebe x Dragan Zdravkovic” in Viewing Room, Artsy (2022) at https://www.artsy.net/viewing-room/vedica-art-studios-and-gallery-joas-nebe-x-dragan-zdravkovic, consulted on 16 July, 2025.
Vedica Art Gallery, “Joas Nebe: Art Basel” in Viewing Room, Artsy (2025) at https://www.artsy.net/viewing-room/vedica-art-studios-and-gallery-joas-nebe-art-basel, consulted on 16 July, 2025.
Carmelita Brunetti, “Joas Nebe: Art Basel, 16–22 June 2025” in Art On World (2025) at https://www.artonworld.com/2025/06/20/art-basel-2025/, consulted on 16 July, 2025.
Vedica Art Gallery, “Fragments x Ian Hamilton Finlay” in Viewing Room, Artsy (2025) at https://www.artsy.net/viewing-room/vedica-art-studios-and-gallery-fragments-x-ian-hamilton-finlay, consulted on 16 July, 2025.
Vedica Art Gallery, “Volta Basel 2025: Visit by Joas Nebe” in Viewing Room, Artsy (2025) at https://www.artsy.net/viewing-room/vedica-art-studios-and-gallery-volta-basel-2025-visit-by-joas-nebe, consulted on 16 July, 2025.
Joas Nebe, “String Figures: A Research Exhibition 20th November 2024 – 9th March 2025” in Art On World, issue 22 (2025) at https://www.flipsnack.com/artonworld/artonworld-n22/full-view.html, consulted on 16 July, 2025.
Joas Nebe, "Narrative Patterns of Femininity interpreted by AI" in Anima Mundi Academia Art Magazine, issue 17, pp. 31 - 36 (2025).
Albert, James, “Joas Nebe creates a Legacy of Meaningful Art” in Time Out California (2025) at https://timeoutcalifornia.com/joas-nebe-creates-a-legacy-of-meaningful-art/, consulted on 16 July, 2025.
Melissa C. Hilborn and Ralph Landau, “LandEscape Meets Joas Nebe” in Online resource LandEscape Contemporary Art Review, Biennale edition (2024) at https://heyzine.com/flip-book/60431add0d.html#page/177 consulted on 12 November, 2024
Samantha Thacker, “The Language of Art: Joas Nebe´s Approach to Communication” in Online resource New York Weekly (2024) at https://nyweekly.com/lifestyle/the-language-of-art-joas-nebes-approach-to-communication/ consulted on 12 November, 2024
Laura Parker, “Language is a Bridge, Between. Classical and Digital Art, Interview with Joas Nebe” in Online resource Disruptor Magazine (2024) at https://disruptorsmagazine.com/joas-nebe-language-is-a-bridge-between-classical-and-digital-art/ consulted on 12 November, 2024
Angela Li, “Joas Nebe: Intersecting Narratives of Art, Technology And Nature” in Online resource (2024) at https://aatonau.com/joas-nebe-intersecting-narratives-of-art-technology-and-nature/ consulted on 12 November ,2024
Lyndon Watkinson, “The domestic environment only continues to entice. Why would I go to the mountains when I can see them right here? – Joas Nebe: untitled, the Elephant in the Room, & Give My Regards To The Alps” in Online resource (2023) at https://su4ip.cargo.site/Articleshttps://su4ip.cargo.site/Joas-Nebe-Give-My-Regards-To-The-Alps consulted on 12 November, 2024
Rebecca Schoensee, “Gaming into Mindfulness” in: Humanize Magazine, issue 11(2011), print edition
Rebecca Schoensee, “Video Artists on Video Art, Joas Sebastian Nebe´s Encyclopedic Cartoons” in: Humanize Magazine, issue 9 (2011), print edition
Rebecca Schoensee, “Tunes of Trauma” in: Humaniue Magazine, issue 10 (2011), print edition
Rebecca Schoensee, “Crushing Shadows” in: Humanize Magazine, issue 8 (2011), print edition
Bibliography
Salvatore Russo & Francesco Saverio Russo, “The Best Contemporary Masters”. Palermo: Effetto Arte, 2024
Lyndon Watkinson, “Noir”. London: SU4IP, 2023
Mohamed Benhadj, “A Like Artist”. Barcelona, Spain: AlTiba9, 2022
Professional Contributions
2018
curator, (.BOX) Video Project Space, The Democracy Scrabble Project, Milan, Italy
curator, Visualcontainer TV, The Democracy Scrabble Project, Milan, Italy
2014
curator, Visual Container, The Proverb Project, Milan, Italy
2012
curator, Sazmanab Project, Encyclopedic Cartoons Video Project, Tehran, Iran
curator, Project, 25 Bilder/Sekunde, Internationale Videokunst im Schaufenster, Encyclopedic Cartoons Video Mannheim,Germany
Sazmanab Project, Encyclopedic Cartoons Video Project, Teheran, Iran
2010
curator, MADATAC, Muestra Abierta de Arte Audiovisual Contemporaneo, Edition II, Seccion oficial
international, Encyclopedic Cartoons Video Project, Madrid, Spain
curator, Encyclopedic Cartoons Video Project, Zentrifuge, Nuernberg, Germany
curator, one hour special, Transfera TV, Encyclopedic Cartoons Video Project, Madrid, Spain
curator, Encyclopedic Cartoons Video Project, Berlin, Germany
2000 – 2006
Lecturer, Department of Psychology/film analysis, University Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
1998
Media Analyst, Reemtsma Cigarette Company, Hamburg, Germany