artist encounters podcast
artist encounters podcast
Podcast Description
In the artist encounters podcast, host Lea Lynn Asbrock dives into conversations with artists about their lives, creative journeys, and the ways their work and surroundings shape each other. Each episode explores the deep connections between art, identity, and environment — one encounter at a time.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on themes of artistic identity, the relationship between art and the environment, and the influence of personal narratives on creative expression, with episodes like the first featuring Skye Gilkerson exploring human-nature connections and the exploration of outer space.
In the artist encounters podcast, host Lea Lynn Asbrock dives into conversations with artists about their lives, creative journeys, and the ways their work and surroundings shape each other. Each episode explores the deep connections between art, identity, and environment — one encounter at a time.
For the fourth episode of the artist encounters podcast, I’m thrilled to share my conversation with artist Mazen Khaddaj! We met in his Berlin studio in the spring of 2024, just before he moved back to Lebanon.
Born in 1985, Mazen Khaddaj is a Lebanese artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans performance, video installation, and painting. After participating in a residency program in Leipzig, he moved to Germany in 2016 and spent eight years working in the German art scene. In 2024, he decided to return to his hometown of Aley, Lebanon, where he is now based.
Mazen Khaddaj’s artistic practice is deeply personal, yet strongly relatable.
He talks about grief and trauma, about being a foreigner and his queer identity. While Khaddaj reflects openly on his personal experiences in his performances, he takes a more subtle approach with his paintings. Abstract and colorful, they leave space for interpretation. Only the poetic titles, which the artist carefully chooses, give insight into his inner thoughts and feelings. As versatile as his practice is, so too are the spaces he inhabits with his art — whether elevators or bathtubs, Khaddaj transforms unexpected settings into vessels for his intimate storytelling.
Make sure to visit Mazen’s website (https://www.mazenkhaddaj.com) and his Instagram @ mazenkhaddajart to stay in the loop with his current projects!
Follow artist encounters on Substack and Instagram at @ artist_encounters to read more about Mazen’s work practice and his personal insights and recommendations.
Happy listening!
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