T H E P I L L® is hosting Nadjib Ben Ali’s first solo exhibition in France. Titled “NOPARTY,” the exhibition showcases works in which the artist selects and manipulates digital images to explore universal themes. The exhibition will be on view from January 30 to March 1, 2025, at the gallery’s new location in Paris.
Nadjib Ben Ali’s solo exhibition will open on January 30 at T H E P I L L®’s Paris gallery. The works featured in “NO PARTY” merge the aesthetics of video games, football matches, hip-hop videos, and B-movie slashers, creating a collection that visually narrates contemporary tragedy. The exhibition presents new works in which the artist revisits themes he has previously explored.
Ben Ali brings his works to life by digitally selecting and manipulating images. Using computer and smartphone screens as creative tools, he pushes photographic imagery to its chromatic and luminous extremes. These digital images serve as the foundation for his paintings, where the faces of football players merge with horror film atmospheres and the dramatic intensity of football moments. The artist examines the intersection of tragedy, dramatic archetypes, and 21st-century visual language through his paintings. By blurring the lines between football players, B-movie characters, and countercultural elements of popular culture, Ben Ali challenges hierarchical cultural categories, constructing a dramaturgy.
An accompanying essay by Jean Charles Vergne places Ben Ali’s work within the context of art history. Vergne draws parallels between Ben Ali’s paintings and classical masterpieces such as Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa (1818) and Manet’s The Dead Toreador (1864), while also highlighting the artist’s engagement with popular culture. The essay explores how Ben Ali navigates the line between “low culture” and “high culture”, subverting traditional artistic hierarchies.
Born in 1994, Nadjib Ben Ali graduated with honors from École Supérieure d’Art et Design de Saint-Étienne in 2019. He has gained recognition through solo exhibitions such as The Cabin (Los Angeles, 2023) and Le POCTB (Orléans, 2022). His works continue to be exhibited in major museums and galleries across France.
“NO PARTY” will be on view from January 30 to March 1, 2025, at THE PILL’s new location in Paris.
