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VOICE OF A GENERATION…
Marcus Antonius Jansen has been a significant leader in modern “Urban-Expressionism”. Jansen has been showing a vague abstract style of urban street scenes and rugged old photo look-a-like images, quite unlike any other painter to date.
Born in Manhattan, June 1968 Jansen first grows up in New York City. He is surrounded by Art very early on living in The Bronx where graffiti and art dominates the city streets. In the late seventies, his parents decided to leave The Big Apple to settle in Europe Germany where he spends most if his teen years traveling throughout Europe. Jansen first finds it difficult to adjust to his new environment however grows up bilingual speaking both German English. The feeling of being torn between his two worlds, become a significant part of what his art reflects today, in an attempt to bring both worlds to one platform for viewers to discover a piece of both worlds.
This painter crosses urban elements with a variety of expressionistic art techniques, a correspondent of what he feels more so than what he sees. Jansen's style reflects his world travels and experiences in Europe, Asia and the United States. He studied Painting in Moenchengladbach Germany from 1986-1989. He has managed to discover a style that has truly become his own signature mark. Jansen possesses a special skill for showing movement, action, drama and emotion in colors rarely used by other painters. Jansen's focus in many of his paintings is keeping the integrity to our architectural structure in our urban communities while depicting our everyday modern surroundings and how we as people relate to it in a symbolic-spiritual manner. “Life is Art” says Jansen, more of a discovery process than a creative, everything around us means something and is set in a destinct composition to be recognized”.
In a play with sophisticated brushstrokes and a swirling of words, Jansens work has elements of political as well as religious gestures he includes in a graffiti style in his work. Sometimes uplifting and sometimes sarchastic his words catch the viewers eye and become a siginificant part of the overall composition. Attempting to bring awareness to the viewer Jansen composes portions of our innercity world that are raw and untamed that are not necessary beautiful but exciting and appear as a painted innercity poetry. “My focus is on the character of ourselves and our surroundings not so much the pretty picture we often times prefer to see. I wanted something that represents our times and this generation away from the more traditional calculated versions” Jansen says. His people are painted in a shadow like image and without much distiction of features, ethnicitity or gesture, setting a mysterious mood that becomes detailed and apperas to change by the minute when viewed.
Jansens is a Gulf War Veteran and contributes much of his success to his faith, drive and experience before and during the conflict, as well as many supporters very early on. Collectors of Jansens work by now range from Europe, Asia to the United States from young people to seniors. Appealing to a mass audience Jansen appears to have bridged the gap between his audience and is able to communicate with out limitation. A rare cross of European Expressionism and modern Urban Culture.
Some of Jansens noted exhibits are : Chares H. Wright Museum Detroit, Stricoff Fine Arts ltd. Chelsea New York, Robert Rauschenberg Gallery Fort Myers Florida, Gallery Schoenen in Aachen Germany, Madison Square Garden New York, Oprah Winfrey’s COLOR Show in Chicago, American Art Gallery France as well as Lagerquist Gallery in Atlanta.
Jansen is also the Ford Motor Company Centennial artist. Commissioned by Ford in Detroit to create four paintings in reflection of the company’s history with emphasis on the minority workers who worked for the company and helped build Ford at their 100th birthday celebration in June 2003. Jansen has appeared on Fox 2 News, NBC News Detroit, NBC,ABC and CBS. His work is in prestigious private and corporate collections around the world.
Jansens Exclusive Publishers Winn Devon Art Group ltd. have made his unique art available to the masses as high quality limited and open edition prints through most large print distributors. Jansen lives and works in South West Florida.