Arwin Kraze

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Outsider artist. Stand‑up comedian. Musician. Filmmaker. Author.

About the Artist

Arwin Kraze works across drawing, painting and mixed media to produce immediate, diaristic images that document memory, anxiety and recovery. Represented exclusively by Ocean Tyler Gallery, Kraze has exhibited seven times and brings a rare combination of lived experience and theatrical urgency to his visual work.

 

Beyond the studio, Kraze is a veteran performer: he played more than a thousand stand‑up gigs between 1990 and 2001, has returned to the stage and curates the weekly comedy room Le Joke. He is the lead singer and guitarist of the cult experimental band The Fuddiez, has authored memoir and children’s books, and founded Lived Experience Pictures in 2017 to produce films for mental health organisations.

 

Practice & Themes

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Kraze’s work is rooted in authenticity and material immediacy: layered marks, text fragments and found objects form visual narratives about night‑time fear, institutional life and the strange tenderness of survival. His paintings and drawings often act as cross‑media echoes of his comedy, music and short films—each discipline feeding the others.

 

Books & Films

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18 Psychiatric Admissions and Counting — a candid memoir exploring Kraze’s experiences within mental health systems.

What the Man of My Dreams Taught Me — a short reflective volume framed around a dream that offers four pieces of practical advice.

Bedtime Handbook — a children’s book series (ages 4–8) addressing fear of the dark through gentle exercises and stories.

Through Lived Experience Pictures Kraze has produced dozens of short films in collaboration with mental health organisations, using co‑design methods that prioritise participant agency and dignity.

 

Selected Exhibitions & Representation

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Kraze has shown on seven solo and group occasions and is represented exclusively by Ocean Tyler Gallery. His work is held by collectors who value story‑driven, socially engaged outsider practices.

 

Public Programs

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Kraze’s practice translates easily into public events and family programming. Typical offerings include live micro‑sets, talks on outsider practice and workshops such as Drawing the Dark for young people and families. MOOHU plans to pair visual works with short film screenings drawn from Lived Experience Pictures.

 

Music & Performance

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As frontman of The Fuddiez, Kraze’s songwriting and live performances share the raw, experimental energy of his visual work. His comedy practice—both historical and current—provides tonal counterpoint to the quiet intensity of his paintings.

 

Press & Media

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For interviews, features or images for publication please contact MOOHU Gallery’s press office. Content advisories are available on request; the exhibition contains material reflecting mental health experiences and may be best viewed with parental guidance for younger audiences.

 

Contact

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Representation: Ocean Tyler Gallery

Programming & Comedy: Le Joke

Film: Lived Experience Pictures