The Thirty Six for Coral auction runs through June 22. A special gala event in Cap Ferrat on June 20th features 10 lots that will be auctioned off live & via-live stream for bidders that cannot attend in person. All proceeds benefit coral reefs. To learn more visit www.forcoral.org

Bid to create a future for coral reefs. 

<p><b>MOYOSORE MARTINS</b></p><div><i>Emi Ko (It's Not Me)</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>62 x 52 inches</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Oil, Oil Stick, Pigment, Graphite on Canvas</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>2023</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Móyòsóré Martins is a self-taught mixed-media artist. Raised in Lagos, Nigeria by a Brazilian father and a Nigerian mother from Ekiti state, Martins adopted a paintbrush and pencil at a young age as instruments to express his innately curious and spiritual nature. Through his work, Martins blends his traditional Yoruba cultural roots with his contemporary vision of art.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Martins’ artwork combines figurative, abstract, and narrative elements drawn from his unique life experience and journey from Nigeria to his large Bronx studio. His work is deeply symbolic and frequently features cultural and personal iconography. Martins’ richly textured paintings feature bold brushstrokes, thick oil paint, drawings, scribbles, collaged materials, and text. The vibrant, heavily layered canvases are interspersed with spiritual elements and wishes manifested and fulfilled. Martins also works in three-dimensional form with clay sculpture. As Martins describes:</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>My artwork is intentionally raw. I like to use a lot of different materials and have rough-cut edges on the canvas. The paintings are textured with scratches, scribbles, and mud-like paint, as well as clay, liquid plastic, oil sticks, chunky layers of oil paint. I layer the background and then deconstruct them, which gives the feeling of wear and tear on the canvas. No painting is alike as each has symbolic patterns and encrypted messages hidden within it. I want to merge the vision with the given and the new world that I live in now. The word “Why?” is seen in a lot of the work because it leaves you asking the same question.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Forbidden by his father to create or study art, Martins spent his college years in Ghana and the Ivory Coast studying computer science. He immigrated to New York City in 2015 to further pursue his artistic ambitions. Martins’ artwork has been exhibited at the Varenne Contemporary (Geneva), TrafficArts (New York, Paris), Crossing Art Gallery (New York), Nassau County Museum (Roslyn, NY), Path Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Robert Fontaine Gallery (Miami, Fl.), Dacia Gallery (New York, NY), Heath Gallery (New York, NY), Grady Alexis Gallery (New York, NY) and Long-Sharp Gallery (Indiannapolis, IN).</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><br></i></div><p></p>


MOYOSORE MARTINS  |  Emi Ko (It's Not Me)

<p><span><b>Bid Now! The Coral Collective brings some of the worldʼs most celebrated artists together with its Thirty Six for Coral exhibition and sale.&nbsp;</b></span></p><p></p><p><span>The online auction opens on May 28th and bidding will remain open until June 22nd. Fourteen pieces will be selected for a live auction on June 20th. Bidders will be informed on June 19th which pieces will be in the live auction, and can participate in the online via our live-streamed event.</span></p><p></p><p><span>Thirty Six for Coral is being exhibited at the iconic Grand Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat in the South of France from June 12-20. This immersive exhibition brings together 36 celebrated artists whose stunning works will serve as a powerful call to action for global conservation efforts for coral reefs, the rainforests of the sea. The exhibition aims to raise global awareness and secure essential funding for protection and restoration of one of the most critically endangered ecosystems on Earth.</span></p><p><span>This exhibition has been made possible by the Pavoncelli Foundation. We would also like to thank Hedley's and OMOSS for their support.</span></p><p></p><p><span>To learn about conservation impact being made, please visit: <a target="_BLANK" href="https://www.forcoral.org/impact">https://www.forcoral.org/impact</a></span></p><p><span>For enquiries, please contact: <a target="_BLANK" href="http://michele@weareprojectzero.org" data-prev-tabindex="" tabindex="-1">michele@weareprojectzero.org</a></span></p><p></p>


<b>NABIL NAHAS</b><div><br></div><div><i>Untitled</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>Acrylic on Canvas&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>44 x 42 cm</div><div><br></div><div>2025</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Drawing inspiration from the fractal patterns&nbsp;<span>found in coral reefs, Nahas creates vibrant,&nbsp;</span><span>multi-layered compositions that appear to&nbsp;</span><span>pulsate with life, bridging the gap between the&nbsp;</span><span>cosmic and the microscopic.</span></div><div><span>Nabil Nahas is an internationally acclaimed Lebanese-American artist known for his bold, three-dimensional paintings that merge geometric abstraction with organic forms, evoking the intricate beauty of nature. Drawing inspiration from the fractal patterns found in coral reefs, Nahas creates vibrant, multi-layered compositions that appear to pulsate with life, bridging the gap between the cosmic and the microscopic.</span></div><div><span>Born in Beirut in 1949, Nahas moved to the United States in 1969 to pursue his artistic education, earning a BFA from Louisiana State University before completing his MFA at Yale University in 1972. After settling in New York in 1973, he became a significant figure in the city’s contemporary art scene, drawing influence from both Islamic decorative patterns and the American abstract painting movement of the mid-20th century.</span></div><div><span>A pivotal moment in Nahas’s artistic journey came when he learned to scuba dive in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Immersed in the underwater world, he was profoundly moved by the complexity and delicate structure of coral formations. Since then, corals have remained a major influence in his work, inspiring his textured, richly pigmented “fractal” paintings that mirror the organic growth of marine life. His signature "Constellation" compositions reference both seabeds and celestial bodies, creating a hypnotic interplay of depth, movement, and luminous color.</span></div><div><span>Beyond his marine-inspired works, Nahas also explores themes of cultural identity and environmental fragility. His later works incorporate imagery of cedars, olive trees, and palms, symbolizing both the natural heritage and the resilience of his homeland, Lebanon. He had his first major retrospective at the Beirut Exhibition Center in 2010, and in 2002, he represented Lebanon at the 25th São Paulo Bienal in Brazil.</span></div><div><span>His work has been showcased in renowned institutions and exhibitions worldwide, including "Glasstress 2011," a Collateral Event of the 54th Venice Biennale, and "Glasstress: New York" at the Museum of Arts and Design in 2012. His paintings are housed in the permanent collections of prestigious museums, including:</span></div><div><ul><li><span>The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York</span></li><li><span>Tate Modern, London</span></li><li><span>Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, UAE</span></li><li><span>Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha</span></li><li><span>Museum of Fine Arts, Boston</span></li><li><span>Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia</span></li><li><span>High Museum of Art, Atlanta</span></li></ul></div><div><span>Nahas had his first solo show at the Robert Miller Gallery in New York in 1977, later exhibiting with Holly Solomon Gallery in 1986 and continuing his long-standing relationship with Sperone Westwater Gallery since 1997.</span></div><div><span>Through his innovative practice, Nahas transforms the microcosm of coral reefs into vast, immersive landscapes, inviting viewers to contemplate the delicate interplay between art, nature, and the infinite patterns of existence.</span></div><div><span>Represented by internationally recognized galleries Ben Brown Gallery,&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><div><span>Spironi Westwater, Saleh Barakat Gallery, Lawri Shabibi Gallery, and Galerie Tanit.</span></div><div><br></div>

NABIL NAHAS  |  Untitled

<p><b>DUSTIN YELLIN</b></p><p><i>Help!</i></p><p><br></p><p>UV printed glass, Epoxy</p><div><span>19 1/8 x 8 1/8 x 6 3/8 Inches</span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Dustin Yellin describes his inventive sculptures as works of “frozen cinema.” He embeds streaks of paint and a riot of tiny images snipped from old magazines, art history books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and found notebooks into sheets of laminated glass. The collage elements coalesce into intricate, shape-shifting narrative scenes, human figures, or isolated natural forms. Yellin’s sculptures can feel once contemporary and ancient, like fossilized organisms preserved in amber. The artist has exhibited in Los Angeles, New York, Amsterdam, London, Madrid, and beyond, and his work has sold for six figures at auction. In 2012, Yellin founded Pioneer Works, a multidisciplinary community cultural center in Brooklyn that hosts artist residencies, mounts large-scale exhibitions (Bosco Sodi, Jacolby Satterwhite, Nan Goldin, and Anthony McCall have all enjoyed solo shows here), and counts artists Shirin Neshat, Mickalene Thomas, and Michael Joo among its advisors.</div><div><br></div><p></p>


DUSTIN YELLIN  |  Help!

<b>WALTON FORD</b><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><b>Study for Bisclavret</b></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Watercolor, gouache, and ink on paper</div><div><br></div><div>42.54 x36.83cm&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Framed&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>2022</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Turning the work of naturalist and painter John James Audubon on its head, Walton Ford imbues the flora and fauna in his own watercolors and prints with sex, violence, and melodrama. His aim is to satirically comment on the history of colonialism, slavery, and other forms of oppression. The beauty and naturalism of his meticulously rendered scenes belie their comedic grotesqueness. As he explains, “I think that there’s almost no subject that you can’t treat with some humor, no matter how brutal it can seem.”</div>

WALTON FORD  |  Study for Bisclavret

<b>SHOLTO BLISSETT</b><div><br></div><div><i>WORLD MAKER III</i></div><div><br></div><div>Oil on Canvas&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>100 x 110cm, 39 1/4 x 43 1/4 in</div><div><br></div><div>2025</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Sholto Blissett paints highly detailed imaginary landscapes inhabited by a variety of topographical, riverine and architectural forms. Growing up in a small village surrounded by the ancient sites of Stonehenge and Avebury stone circle, Blissett has a long-standing interest in the fictions societies create to understand their place in nature. His work, achieved through layered washes and the meticulous application of oil, centers on our relationship to the aesthetics of ‘Nature’ and how our contemporary moment challenges the ways in which we have historically chosen to understand our place within the natural world. Evoking principles of surrealism and romanticism alongside renaissance painting styles such as capriccio and veduta, Blissett’s work presents us with a view of nature that folds cultural constructions of wilderness and the sublime into uncanny, dreamlike visions of our contemporary moment.</div><div><br></div><div>Solo Exhibitions</div><div>Arboreal, Peres Projects, Milan, 2023</div><div>Rubicon, Alexander Berggruen, New York, 2023</div><div>Ship of Fools, Hannah Barry Gallery, London, 2022</div><div><br></div><div>Fairs</div><div>Frieze London, Peres Projects, London, 2023</div><div>KIAF Seoul, Peres Projects, Seoul, 2023</div><div>Art Basel, Peres Projects, Basel, 2023</div><div><br></div><div>Group Exhibitions</div><div>Fantastic Landscapes, Double Q Gallery, Hong Kong, 2023</div><div>High Voltage 4, Nassima Landau Art Foundation, Tel Aviv, 2023</div><div>Colnaghi New Masters, Sholto Blissett X Hubert Robert, Colnaghi, London, 2022</div><div>Manscaping, The Hole, New York, 2022</div><div>Lost at Sea, The Artist Room, London, 2022</div><div>The Natural World: Part II, Alexander Berggruen, New York, 2022</div><div>Sholto Blissett, Emma Fineman, Madeline Peckenpaugh, Alexander Berggruen, New York, 2021</div><div>Utopia, Peres Projects, Berlin, 2021</div><div>Tree and Leaf, Hannah Barry Gallery, London, 2021</div><div>Down in Albion, L.U.P.O, Milan, 2021</div><div>The Earth, That is Sufficient, Nicola Vassell, New York, 2021</div><div>Rites of Passage, Unit London, London, 2021</div><div>Tomorrow: London, White Cube, London, 2020</div><div>London Grads Now, Saatchi Gallery, London, 2020</div><div>CIRCA 2020, Piccadilly Circus, London, 2020</div><div>IRL, Unit London, London, 2020</div><div>Final, not Over. Session 1: Open Fields, Unit 1 Gallery, London, 2020</div><div>Royal College of Art/Slade Graduation Show, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London 2020</div><div>50/50, FOLD Gallery, London, 2020</div><div>Wintergreen Boxwood, No20 Arts, London, 2020</div><div>RCA 2020, Royal College of Art, London, 2020</div><div><br></div><div>Representation</div><div>Hannah Barry Gallery, London</div><div>Alexander Berggruen, New York</div><div><br></div><div>Education</div><div>MA Painting, Royal College of Art, 2018-2020</div><div>BA Hons Geography, Durham University, 2014-2017</div><div><br></div><div>Copyright Sholto Blissett</div><div>Courtesy the artist and Hannah Barry Gallery, London, UK. Photography: © Damian Griffiths</div>

MOYOSORE MARTINS | Emi Ko (It's Not Me)

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