Albareh Art Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of, Lützner Street 7, a solo exhibition of the latest works of Lebanese Artist, Mazen Khaddaj.  The opening reception will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday 14th, January, 2020 in Albareh Art Gallery.

 

 Artist Statement

 

“Lützner Street 7” is a collection of paintings depicting my interpretation of various physical and emotional bonds between individuals. It is an analysis that swings between objective external observations and internal perspectives from myself, as a member of the community I live in.

 

After moving to Leipzig, Germany, I began to recognize different forms of community and individual relationships. Coming from Lebanon and making a fast shift to a western community was not easy. The ideologies and formalities were new. Some social aspects I had appreciated in a Middle Eastern society do not exist here. The quest for embracing change and harvesting positive characteristics of people’s connections was the captivating premise that inspired this collection.

 

“Lützner Street 7” is a hybrid of human touch and emotion. It is the byproduct of characteristics forming and deforming human relations. The works are an invasion on what was foreign and what is still shared. They are the translation of sentiments such as love, hope, ambition, enjoyment, unity, understanding and acceptance.

 

I live on “Lützner Street 7”. It is where eighteen people came together and defeating all odds merged into one family. This exhibition is a tribute to all the good mornings and the good nights. It is a tribute to Home and all the beautiful people founding it. 

 

Biography

 

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

 

Khaddaj’s paintings are a play between textures and color, transparency and flatness. His work manifests human thought and interaction through figuration, which appears abstracted and dissipating, intersecting yet secluded. Subsequent video performances and installations are extensions of the work on canvas; what is inherent to still surfaces translates to mutable forms.

 

Khaddaj’s first solo show Bonds (2013) was held at Art Circle, and was followed by The Middle State (2015) at 392Rmeil393 Gallery, both based in Beirut. The University of Balamand Gallery invited Khaddaj to exhibit his work in March of 2015. That year, Khaddaj also showcased his first video installation and commenced a multidisciplinary approach. Emotion in Motion (2016) took place at Artspace Hamra, Beirut. His newfound trajectory is evident in The Eye, featuring five videos depicting the relationship between individuality and society at large. The installation is currently on view at the MACAM Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art, Lebanon. I am a Foreigner (2017) contemplated his relocation to Germany and the subsequent struggle of grounding himself in a new country. The exhibition was held at GAPGAP in Leipzig, and showcased several paintings and two video installations. I End to Begin (2019) was his 6th solo exhibition that was held in 392Rmeil393 in Lebanon talking about the struggle of forming an identity and a belief system that feels like him wherever he lives, whether it is in Germany or in Lebanon. The Museum Der Bildenden Künste In Leipzig hosted his Latest solo show The Laundry Room (2019). The show represents the traveling of his soul from one state to another carrying thoughts and experiences imprinted in his consciousness. His installation Spot The Foreigner was chosen to be part of Re:Orient (2019 - 2020) show at The Grassi Museum in Leipzig. Khaddaj has also taken part in several collective shows in Bahrain, Turkey, Lebanon and Germany.

 

In the fall of 2015, Khaddaj participated in the Pilotekuche Art Residency in Leipzig, where he explored new methods in painting.  Mazen Khaddaj continues to live and work in Germany.  

 

Lützner Street 7 continues at Albareh Art Gallery till 10th February 2020.  

 

For more information please call us at +973 17717707 or email us at art@albareh.com / events@albareh.com