Amir Nour

Biography

Working in a range of mediums, Amir Nour is a sculptor who creates works often associated with a minimalist style. His works integrate basic geometric shapes in ways that evoke his deep connection with his Sudanese homeland and its cultural imagery.

Nour’s work has been exhibited internationally in the Middle East, America and Europe. In the UAE, his work was shown at the Sharjah Art Foundation as part of do it بالعربي (2016). Exhibitions in the US and Cuba have been presented at the Museum of Modern Art PS1, New York (2002); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2001); Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca (1993); Segunda Bienial de la Habana, Cuba (1986); Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh (1976) and Art Institute of Chicago (1973), among others. In Europe, his work has been exhibited at such institutions as Museum Villa Stuck, Munich (2001); Malmö Konsthall, Sweden (1995); Whitechapel Gallery, London (1995) and Maison de la culture Andre Malraux, Reims, France (1978). His work can also be found in the collections of the Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE and the National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC.

Nour has won several awards, among them the New Haven Festival of Art Prize (1969) and the prize for graphic and plastic arts from African Arts magazine (1968) for his sculpture Ancestor. His commissioned work includes Calabash 4 for the City of Chicago (1983) and a concrete sculpture for Asilah, Morocco.

He holds a PhD in Art History from the University of Saint Andrews, Scotland (2006) and a BFA and MFA (1966) from Yale University, New Haven, US. He also pursued postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Art, London (1966). He received diplomas from the Slade School of Art, London (1962) and the School of Fine and Applied Art, Khartoum (1957). In addition to his work as an artist, Nour has written several books about African art, taught at Harry S Truman, City Colleges of Chicago, for a number of years and served as Director of the Department of Sculpture, School of Fine and Applied Art, Khartoum (1963-1965).

Born in Shendi, Sudan in 1939, Nour currently lives and works in Chicago.