Mazen Rifai

Mazen Rifai (b. 1957) is a Beirut-based artist and architect who was born in Baalbek. He holds a degree in Fine Arts from the Academia de Macerata, Italy and another in Interior Design/Architecture from the Lebanese University (LU). Rifai worked extensively in the field of instruction, before deciding to focus on architecture and painting. 

In his art, Rifai’s beloved birthplace remains his primary source of inspiration, especially the beauty of its natural light. 

Using thick brushstrokes, he creates abstract, yet scenic landscapes in small-scale paintings, marked by bold use of colour. A lack of distracting features provides a sense of tranquillity and adds to the contemplative nature of his art. In some works, vast, cloudless azure skies meet pine-green meadows, with a lack of borders or boundaries accentuating expansive vistas. 

Other pieces treat audiences to a tapestry of fields, carved up by colours that range from corn yellow to earth brown, set in hilly formations against daytime pale blue skies, indigo, starlit nights or rich red, breathtaking sunsets. Rifai’s oeuvre also includes delightful rustic village scenes, ranging from wooden doorways viewed through delightful archways, edged with plants and complete with a well, to delightful pathways leading viewers down through the Bekaa valley along a route edged with trees and farmhouses typical of the region. Some of his more recent works veer further towards abstraction, featuring structural landscapes in more defined blocks of colour. 

Mazen Rifai’s work has been exhibited extensively in Lebanon and abroad over the decades. His recent solo shows include: ‘Mazen Rifai: Recent Works’, Agial Art Gallery, Beirut (2021); ‘Water Colour’, Espace 9 Gallery, Beirut (2017); Galerie Rochane, Beirut (2016); Epreuve d’Artiste, Beirut (2016); Galerie 34 Bonaparte, Paris (2016); Galerie Aida Cherfan, Beirut (2014); Gallery 6, Beirut (2010); Galerie Alex Menem, Paris (2009); and Agial Art Gallery, Beirut (2007). 

He has also taken part in several group shows, including, most recently: ‘Lebanese Landscapes’, Agial Art Gallery, Beirut (2024); ‘Lebanon | Untitled: Modern & Contemporary Lebanese Art’, Janet Rady Fine Art and Artscoops, Cromwell Place, London (2023); and ‘Reality Show’, Fann A Porter, Amman, Jordan (2023). Rifai has also taken part in numerous editions of Sursock Museum’s Salon d’Automne since 1974 and Beirut Art Fair, including the 2019 edition.

While working in tuition, Rifai was appointed professor of Fine Arts at the LU and went on to become Head of Department – a position he held from 1987 until 1993. He also holds the title of Art Director at Engineers, Consulting & Contracting, an engineering and architecture firm. Earlier career milestones include making a significant contribution to the Beirut Central District Reconstruction Plan with Oger Liban in 1984. He remains a consultant in this field for the Council for Development and Reconstruction. 

Rifai is a member of the Baalbek International Festival Committee. He has also published two books, titled ‘Baalbeck Black and White’ (Dar Al -Nahar, 2007) and ‘Baalbeck 1981-2011’ (Fine Arts Publishing, 2011).