Nie graduated from Chongqing University in 2006 and over the past seven years, he's participated in numerous international biennales and group exhibitions, including "China - The new generation of artists" at Museo Della Permanente Milan (2008) and the 12th World Chinese Art Conference in Hong Kong (2010) . In 2012, Nie was the winner of the prestigious John Moores Painting Prize for his work, "Being".