An Interview With Eleanor Nadimi

Eleanor Nadimi's abstract paintings are a fascinating dialogue between seemingly disparate worlds: the sleek modernity of mid-century design and the timeless elegance of Iranian architecture. Based in London, Nadimi explores the profound impact of color and shape on our emotions and surroundings, creating minimal yet deliberate compositions that invite us to contemplate the interaction between people and the spaces they inhabit.

Can you tell us a little bit about you?

I’m an artist based in North London working and living in a converted Victorian textile factory with my rescue dog Lulu. My work explores the intersection of colour, architecture, and human experience. I’m also the founder of homeware brand One Nine Eight Five.

What does your artistic process look like and how has it evolved since you began painting?

My process is quite intuitive, often beginning with an architectural detail or colour palette that sparks a visual conversation. I build compositions in response. I work slowly and in layers, often leaving pieces to sit for a while before coming back to them with fresh eyes. Over time, my process has become more confident and pared back. I’ve learned to trust restraint and simplicity, and to let the materials lead. Where I might have overworked things in the past, I’m now more interested in subtlety, and what can be suggested rather than spelled out.

In what specific ways do you bring elements of your Iranian heritage into your paintings? 

I’m often drawn to geometric patterning, symmetry and repetition, echoing aspects of Persian design, its traditional architecture and textiles. Textiles was one of my earliest connections to my Iranian heritage - through carpets, embroidery and everyday objects that were in my childhood home. That sense of pattern, texture and careful construction has stayed with me and quietly informs how I think about composition. A kind of visual rhythm that feels inherited rather than consciously constructed.

You are interested in the interaction of people and buildings. While your paintings are abstract, how do you aim to convey this relationship or the feeling of human presence within architectural spaces?

I’m interested in how buildings shape the way we feel—not just through their structure, but through colour, proportion, decoration and light. It’s the subtle, often subconscious ways a space can make us feel calm, uplifted, grounded, or even uneasy that really fascinate me. Have you ever walked into a room and immediately felt a sense of calm? That’s the kind of emotional atmosphere I try to capture in my work. Although my paintings are abstract, I aim to evoke the mood of a space—the warmth it holds, or the energy carried by a particular palette. I use composition, pattern and colour relationships to suggest how it might feel to be in a space, rather than depicting people directly. It’s less about representing architecture literally and more about translating its emotional and sensory impact - how forms shape the way we move, feel, and exist within them. Midcentury architecture has had a strong influence on me in that sense. I’m drawn to its clean lines, confident use of colour, and the way it balances functionality with a kind of quiet elegance. There’s an intentionality to how midcentury spaces are designed that I find deeply inspiring - every detail seems to serve both form and feeling, which is something I think about a lot in my own compositions.

How does living and working in a converted Victorian textile factory influence your artistic practice or the themes you explore?

There’s a powerful physical presence to this building - its proportions, textures and traces of its past. It definitely feeds into my visual language. I’m surrounded by high ceilings and exposed brick with an industrial kind of repetition, which mirrors some of the formal elements I explore in my paintings. There’s also something poetic about making work in a space that was once dedicated to textiles - those histories of labour, craft and colour still feel embedded in the walls. It’s a quiet influence, but a grounding one. And because this building houses lots of live/work units there’s a strong sense of community here. I’m surrounded by other creatives; it’s a very supportive atmosphere which really helps. Plus, Lulu has made lots of doggie friends which is always a bonus.

You're interested in how colour and shape affect mood. Can you tell me about some of the colours or shapes you often use in your paintings and what kind of feeling or atmosphere you're hoping to create with them?

What fascinates me is how a composition, or even just the pairing of two colours can change the way those colours are perceived by our eyes. Depending on the proportion, shape and placement, you get a completely different result. Josef Albers explored this so thoroughly in Interaction of Color, where he emphasised the idea that colour is "deceptive" and "unstable”, a non-static thing influenced by its surroundings. That idea really stuck with me, and because of it, I’m less focused on using a particular shade or shape per say and more interested in playing with combinations and composition to create different emotional tones or atmospheres.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face as an artist?

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is navigating the art world as someone coming from a working-class background. It’s not always as accessible as you’d hope. It can feel like a lot depends on who you know, or being a part of the right network to get your work noticed. My practice is completely self-funded, so things like applying for group shows, taking part in open calls, or even just making and promoting the work all come with financial considerations. I’ve often had to save up to take part in opportunities, which naturally slows things down. It’s frustrating because exposure is probably one the biggest keys to creative success, art is so subjective in its nature, so the more eyes on it, the more likely you’ll find your audience, and in turn, generating more sales, gallery representation and shows. It’s not about wanting shortcuts, just about wishing there were more support systems that recognised the different paths artists take to get their career established. That said, I’ve learned to be resourceful, and that has shaped a practice that’s very self-directed and grounded in real intention.

Are there any contemporary artists or designers whose work you follow or admire?

One artist whose had a huge impact on me is James Turrell. I first experienced his work at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). I’d never had such a visceral experience with art before. The way he works with colour, light and space was unlike anything I’d ever seen. Whether it was a skyspace or immersive room shifting through different colours, I was completely hooked. What struck me most was how physical the experience was, how the colour wasn’t just something you looked at, it was something you felt. His use of colour blocking, sensory lighting, and controlled architectural environments really shaped how I think about space, especially in my own work. Even though I’m working on a much smaller scale and in a very different medium, that idea of using colour to create atmosphere has stayed with me ever since.

Are you working on any projects you are particularly excited about?

I’ve recently started introducing new materials into my work which is still in the early stages but feels very exciting. I’m experimenting with incorporating textiles and veneer into my paintings, adding texture and material variation that’s pushing the work into a more mixed-media direction. It’s been fascinating to see how these new surfaces interact with the paint, especially in terms of colour and light, the way different materials absorb and reflect light completely shifts the mood and balance of the piece. These subtle contrasts have opened up new ways to explore the emotional weight of colour and texture. It feels like a natural evolution of the work, and I’m really enjoying the process of figuring it out as I go.

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