MICHEL MAJERUS – ALUMINUM PAINTINGS
2017-03-06The exhibition features seven works from 1996 and 2000, painted on aluminum panels approximately four by eight feet in size.
Majerus, who died in a plane crash in 2002 at age thirty-five, was one of the earliest painters to address how digital technology is changing the visible world, and was perhaps the first to prepare his imagery using Photoshop. Until 1996 he transferred this sampled and layered imagery onto canvas by hand. With these paintings, however, he began screen-printing it directly into the composition, a leap that would irrevocably change the course of his work.
Installed together, as the artist intended them, for the first time in over twenty years are five paintings with Nintendo’s Mario character printed in the lower-right register. At the time they were made, Mario had recently been the subject of the first movie based on a video game (Super Mario Bros.) and, according to one survey, was more recognizable to American children than Mickey Mouse. Majerus himself was a dedicated Nintendo player, which may explain some elements of his artistic approach — a playful take on action painting infused with kinetic energy and a vivid color palette.
Opposite – Untitled, 1996
Exhibition runs through to April 15th, 2017
Matthew Marks Gallery
523 West 24th Street
New York
NY 10011
