Nicolas Nadja is a contemporary artist from Chicago, IL. His work is focused in the practice of fine art paintings, dealing with a scope between Realism and Surrealism with a factor of timelessness and old mastery.

Nadja attended the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design from 2012-2013 for a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting, when after the first semester, Nadja left his studies to pursue life in Florence, Italy. During 2013 Nadja practiced painting and sustainable farming techniques on various farms throughout the Tuscany region. The roots of the Renaissance style in Nadja’s work was born at this time through his experience living in the Tuscan hills, traveling until 2014.

Nadja attended the San Francisco Art Institute for one semester, studying painting and sculpture for a year before transferring to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he completed his BFA in 2017.

Nadja opened his studio storefront in Chicago shortly after graduating from SAIC, and started teaching painting lessons in academic realism. Thereafter, Nadja opened a studio at the Zhou B Art Center where he continued his work until 2018. Nadja relocated to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Mars Hill, NC for 3 years developing his craft in retreat, where he linked up with Mars Landing Gallery.

Nadja now works and lives in his studio in Richmond, VA. He takes on private students on a rolling basis, in his studio and continues to teach on traditional oil painting and contemporary practice.

Nadja has been involved in several conservation projects across the country and assisted in many large scale art installations. Most notably the renovations done at the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach. Nadja also worked with a painting conservator in Virginia that specialized in old master techniques and practices for architectural painting and finishes. Now with his most current project, Nadja is working on one of Chicagos most historical hotels, the Intercontinental Chicago, conserving a mural on the ceiling of the famous King Arthur ballroom.

Nadja has been acclaimed and reviewed for his academic realism in publications such as New City Magazine, Poets & Artists Magazine, Surrealism Today, Asheville Made, and Chicago Tribune and Palm Beach Post. He has exhibited at numerous galleries throughout the country, and he continues to expand his work into the contemporary art world at the age of 31.