Nazli Tahvili is an Iranian illustrator and author born in Tehran in 1980 and currently based in California.
She studied Graphic Design at the Faculty of Art and Architecture of Azad University in Tehran, graduating in 2001, and later earned a degree in Illustration from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna in 2014. Since 2001, she has worked with Iranian and international publishers and magazines, including Hamelin magazine in Bologna. Tahvili has illustrated more than a dozen children's books published internationally. In 2013, she received the Álvaro Becattini Award in Italy and the Special Award at the Nami Concours in South Korea. Since 2015, she has focused on creating picture books as both author and illustrator. Her published works include Kagittan Sehir (2015), a wordless picture book published in Turkey and China; Storia di un viaggio (2016), published by Kite Edizioni in Italy; Chalk Eagle (2018), published by Tiny Owl Publishing in the UK; and Road Adventures (2025), published by Corraini Edizioni in Italy. Chalk Eagle was selected by IBBY UK for its Silent Books collection in Lampedusa, Italy, and was recognized as one of the most significant wordless picture books internationally in 2019. In addition to her publishing work, Tahvili has also worked in poster design. As one of four artists commissioned to create posters for the Bologna Jazz Festival, Four of her festival posters were exhibited at Bologna's Salaborsa Library in 2023. In 2024, artwork from Storia di un viaggio was featured in Mondo che creo, Mondo che desidero (The World I Create, The World I Desire), a two-person exhibition at MAMbo, the Museum of Modern Art of Bologna.
PUBLICATIONS
2025 Author & illustrator of Road Adventures, Italy
2022 Cantan las formas cantan, México
2022 Author & illustrator of Road Adventures, USA
2019 The Padlock, England
2018 Author & illustrator of Chalk Eagle, London, England
2016 Author & illustrator of Story of a Journey, Italy
2015 Author & illustrator of The City of Paper, Turkey
2012 Atasay, Basim Kasim, Turkey
2012 The Boy Who Knew How to Count, Forglet Alfa, Denmark,
2012 Ladder, Forglet Alfa, Denmark
2009 Ladder, Fei Bao, China
2009 The boy who knew how to count, Kunna, Korea
2008 Atasay, Fei Bao, China
2008 Three Flower Pots, Kanoon Parvaresh, Iran
2008 The Sweet Story of Salaman and Absal, Piydayish, Iran
2008 Freeway, Tooka, Iran
2007 Pahlevan’s way, Behnashr, Iran
2007 Tonight's story-(2 stories of a volume) of 12 volume set of books, Vida, Iran
2006 Pahlevan’s way: Pahlevan Akbar 2, Behnashr, Iran
2006 The boy who knew how to count, Shabaviz, Iran
2005 My name is Mania, Hoze Noghre, Iran
2005 Ladder, Shabaviz, Iran
2004 Redskirt, Shabaviz, Iran
2001 Atassay, Shabaviz, Iran
SOLO SHOW
2024 Mondo che creo, Mondo che desidero, Mambo, Museum of Modern Art, Bologna, Italy
2017 Original silk screen illustrations of Story of a Journey, Pangea Libreria, Padua, Italy
2017 Original silk screen illustrations of Story of a Journey, Sala Consiliare, Padua, Italy
2017 Calo book store, handmade books & illustration, Osaka, Japan
2017 Gallery Fukka, handmade books & illustration, Tokyo, Japan
2017 Original silk screen illustrations of Story of a Journey, Sala del Ricco, Battaglia Terme, Italy
2014 Spazio&, Bologna, Italy
2004 Azad Gallery, Tehran, Iran
GROUP SHOW
2025 Annual exhibition at Sahar K Boluki art gallery, Toronto, Canada
2025 Salamx2 20th Anniversary Exhibition, The Ethnorth Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2023 Bologna Jazz Festival, Sala Borsa, Bologna, Italy
2020 35th Annual Made in California, Brea, USA
2019 Exhibition of Iranian Women Art, Inner Fragments, Duderstadt Gallery, University of Michigan, USA
2018 Mini prints Berlin, Gallery Heike Arndt, Berlin, Germany
2018 Tama Art University Museum, Tokyo International Mini Print, Tokyo, Japan
2018 Exhibition of Iranian women's art, Inner Fragments, Emery's Flex space Gallery, Maine, USA
2018 Exhibition of Iranian women's art, Inner Fragments, Northwest gallery, Detroit, MI, USA
2017 49th International Biennial of Illustrations, Belgrade, Serbia
2017 Exhibition of illustration, covering the classics literature, 1888 Center, Orange, CA
2017 Mapu festival, Padova, Italy
2016 Exhibition of illustration, 8th International Festival, I Colori di Sacro, Diocesano Museum, Padua, Italy
2016 Exhibition of illustration, Book & Paper Museum, Izmir, Turkey
2016 Exhibition of illustration، new pictures of Iran, Frederikshavn& Rentemestervej libraries, Denmark
2015 Exhibition of illustration، new pictures of Iran, Slagelse& Korsor libraries, Cfg Flensburg, Denmark
2014 Exhibition of Persian mitts, Sala San Michele, Fano, Italy
2014 Exhibition of the international festival of illustration of Nami island, Franz Mayer Museum, Mexico
2014 Exhibition of illustration To commemorate 50 years of activities of the Children's Book Council- Khaneye Honarmandane Iran, Tehran, Iran
2013 Exhibition of the international festival of illustration, Nami island, Korea
2013 Exhibition of handmade artist's books Concours, Russi, Italy
2013 Eurohope Contest, Museo del Fumetto, Milan, Italy
2013 Eurohope Contest, Palazzo Ducale, Genoa, Italy
2012 Neurotitan Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2012 Frappant Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
2012 6th Festival of Illustrated Book, Barcelona, Spain
2012 Exhibition of illustrations' Concours of the Book Festival, Sharjah, Dubai
2011 Neurotitan Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2011 ExMà Museum, Cagliari, Italy
2011 5th Festival of the Illustrated Book, Barcelona, Spain
2009 BIB, Biennial of Illustrations of Bratislava, Slovakia
2007 International Biennial of Illustrations, Belgrade, Serbia
2007 Exhibition of the first festival of Illustration for Iranian literary masterpieces
2007 Laleh Gallery, Tehran
2006 Book Fair, Frankfurt, Germany
2005 Satyrikon Festival, Legnica, Poland
2003 International Biennial of Illustrations, Belgrade, Serbia
2001 Javane Gallery - Tehran, Iran
2000 Azad Gallery, Tehran, Iran
AWARDS & HONORS
2018 Selected & certificated for Tokyo International Triennial Mini Print, Tokyo, Japan
2013 Winner of the Alvaro Becattini Prize during the Festival of Handmade Books for the book “Mashi e Mashiane”, Italy
2013 Special Prize of Nami Island International Illustration Concours, Korea, for “The Baron in the three.”
2007 Winner of Kanoon Parvaresh Festival for the book “The Boy Who Knew How to Count”, Iran
2007 Second place in the book of the year festival, Salam Bacheha, for the book" The Boy Who Knew How to Count".
2006 Award Winner of the Children’s Book Council of Iran for the book “My name is Mania”, Iran
2005 Award Winner of Shabaviz Grand Festival for the book “The Boy Who Knew How to Count”, Iran
2005 Third place in the 5th Biennial of Illustration of Tehran, Iran
2004 Winner of Winter Festival of Illustration, Iran