Biography:

Born in Lebanon in 1985, Mazen Khaddaj is a multidisciplinary artist working in painting, performance and video art. He graduated with a BA in graphic design from the American University of Science and Technology in 2008 and worked as an accomplished Art Director for several years in numerous multinational advertising companies before dedicating his time fully to the arts.

 

Khaddaj is widely known for his distinguished bold colors and strong contour lines in both gouache and acrylic. Khaddaj’s narrative threads follow both his stream of consciousness and also the lines and gestures of the human form.

 

Khaddaj’s first solo show, ‘Bonds’, was held at ‘Art Circle’ in 2013 followed by his second show, ‘The Middle State’, at ‘392Rmeil393’ Gallery in 2015, both in Beirut. The University of Balamand Gallery invited Khaddaj to showcase his work in March of 2015. In 2015, Khaddaj also showcased his first video installation and started to develop his work as a multidisciplinary artist, encompassing performance, video and installation. ‘Emotion in Motion’ is his third solo show, which took place in August of 2016 at Artspace Hamra, Beirut. The show consisted of paintings and a video installation ‘The Eye’, which is a combination of five videos considering the relationship between the individual and society. The installation is carnally on show at the MACAM Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art, Lebanon.

 

Following that was ‘I am a Foreigner’, his fourth solo show talking about his move to Germany and the struggles of grounding himself in a new country. The exhibition took place in September 2017 at GAPGAP, Leipzig, Germany.

 

In the fall of 2015, Khaddaj participated in the Pilotekuche Art Residency in Leipzig, Germany where he explored and experimented with new methods and mediums of painting.

 

Mazen Khaddaj currently lives and works In Leipzig Germany.