Nes' early work has been characterized as subverting the stereotype of the masculine Israeli man by using homoeroticism and sleeping, vulnerable figures.[10] He regularly uses dark-skinned Israeli models.[11] The models' poses often evoke the Baroque period. Nes has said that the inspiration for his photography is partially autobiographical:
My staged photographs are oversized and often recall well-known scenes from Art History and Western Civilization combined with personal experiences based on my life as a gay youth growing up in a small town on the periphery of Israeli society.
Nes lives and works in a small town at the north of Tel Aviv, he and his partner have four surrogate children.[3] His work is currently sold through Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City and Praz-Delavallade in Paris and Los Angeles.[citation needed] In January 2007, he premiered a new series echoing Biblical stories.[13]
Solo exhibitions
Between Promise and Possibility: The Photographs of Adi Nes, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 2004[2]
Gal, Nissim1. 2010. "The Language of the Poor: Bible Stories as a Critical Narrative of the Present." Images: Journal of Jewish Art & Visual Culture 4, no. 1: 82-108. Art & Architecture Source, March 27, 2017.