Set Me Free Painting

Mazen Khaddaj was 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 after Leipzig, the exhibition was exhibited in 2020 at WerkStadt, Berlin, Germany. 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 7th 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 part of Re-Orient (2019) exhibition at The Grassi Museum. The installation talks about the struggle he faces in Germany as an immigrant.