Mazen Kerbaj

Mazen Kerbaj was born in 1975 in Beirut, and has lived there since. Beirut comes through in a lot of his work, as he covers every corner of his pages reminiscent of the full-blown spirit found in this city. Mazen can be found with a trumpet and paintbrush in hand. He is equally recognized for his art, comics & painting, as he is for his music. He has collaborated with a series of publishers and magazines and also released much of his own personal work in form of exhibits and journals.

He embraces improvisation in much of his work. Whether it is his spontaneous comics put down on cardboard or his live performances. In his project “Wormholes” sound and visuals are improvised by drawing on a glass table using ink and water solvents; a testament that nothing is permanent. In “don’t feed the artist” Kerbaj shut himself in a glass cage for 10 days so that viewers could see the process of the exhibition.

Using china ink and acrylic on kraft paper Mazen Kerbaj under went a 4 hand collaboration with artist Laure Ghorayeb (also his mother) called “You and I and the painted paper” in a masterful negotiation on paper. Through his work Kerbaj exposes a very raw and playful psychology, whether reacting to the ironies and tragedy of wars in the region or trying to forget them with a couple of drinks.