Anis Nabil Harbaoui

Anis Nabil Harbaoui, born in 1996, lives and grew up in Paris. After initially pursuing a scientific path, he entered the Beaux-Arts de Paris and obtained his diploma in 2024.

In his work—whether in pencil, ink, or paint—Anis Nabil Harbaoui shares his vision of figuration in the era of relentless technological progress and speculates on realities that are both concrete and alternative. Drawing inspiration from reality and his surroundings, he presents a vision of a world in a state of perpetual agony.

In a pursuit of realism, he blurs the lines between critique and celebration of contemporary societies, questioning the conflicts that divide them and the plagues they inevitably carry. Deeply attached to references, he weaves them into his work, raising numerous questions about the state of the world at the beginning of the 21st century.

“His photorealistic treatment and smooth brushwork serve to heighten the sense of unease when he presents scenes of Paris under attack, targeted by missiles. His compositions focus on the luminous effects of nighttime bombings and explosions, rather than on ruined buildings or wounded bodies—as if to emphasize how accustomed we’ve become to a spectacular portrayal of war, shaped by video games like GTA or by cinema.

Like Gérôme, his painting seeks the moment just before or after the action—the instant when the eyes are adjusting, as in Infrarouge, which immerses us in a nocturnal reconnaissance. Anis Nabil Harbaoui’s painting is that of a war at a distance.”
— Henri Guette