MICHEL MAJERUS
Michel Majerus’s (1967–2002) work can be seen as capturing the visual culture of a moment. Majerus was fascinated by the specific imagery of his time: 1990s advertisement and its slogans, brands and their logos, and the emerging importance of the internet and computer technology with its digital aesthetics. Alongside this, pop cultural phenomena such as comics, graffiti or techno mark recurring motifs within his work. During his tragically curtailed, decade-long career, the artist created an extensive oeuvre, spanning painting, installation, murals, collage and video work. His spontaneous and rapid mode of working, combined with a deep curiosity, bore a multi-faceted body of work with a distinct spatial sensibility.
‘Majerus’s production of images and visual environments, in fact, represents one of the very few recent approaches to painting that cannot be understood in terms of a return to anything from the past. His art had a specific kind of newness – not the lofty, if contested, “originality of the avant-garde”, but the prepackaged newness of the latest cell-phone graphic or just-released sneaker from Nike. Majerus's art was about this newness.’
D. Birnbaum, Search Engine. The Art of Michel Majerus in: Artforum, 2006
Image: Ohne Titel, 2000, acrylic on cotton, 301,5 x 333 cm, courtesy of © Michel Majerus Estate 2000 and neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Solo Exhibitions
Group Exhibitions
Biography
VITA
1967
Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
1986–1992
Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Stuttgart
2000–2001
DAAD scholarship, Los Angeles
2002
Died Niederanven, Luxembourg
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
Sinnmaschine
MUDAM, Luxembourg
2022
Data Streaming
Kunstverein Hamburg
Ölbilder. Michel Majerus im Dialog mit der Sammlung Ludwig
Ludwig Forum Aachen
Early Works
KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin
Michel Majerus: Progressive Aesthetics
Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami
Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.), Berlin
Michel Majerus. Zum 20. Todestag
Sprengel Museum, Hanover
2018
In EUROPE everything appears more serious than in the USA
Kunsthalle Bielefeld
2017
Michel Majerus. Laboratorium für die Feststellung des Offensichtlichen
Michel Majerus Estate, Berlin
Michel Majerus – Aluminium Paintings
neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Michel Majerus – Aluminium Paintings
Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
2016
Michel Majerus. Printer's Proof
Galerie l'Indépendance, BIL, Luxembourg
2015
Galerie Max Hetzler, Paris
2014
Matthew Marks Gallery, New York (catalogue)
2013
Mace the space ace
Art Basel Unlimited, Basel
Beautiful Way
Michel Majerus Estate, Berlin
2012
CAPC Musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, Bordeaux (catalogue)
2011
Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (catalogue)
zweihundertvier sechzigmalsechzig
neugerriemschneider, Berlin
2010
Knaackstrasse 12, Berlin
2009
lost forever
neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Saarlandmuseum, Saarbrücken (catalogue)
2008
yet sometimes what is read successfully, stops us with its meaning
Nosbaum & Reding Art Contemporain, Luxembourg
2007
liebt euch
neugerriemschneider, Berlin
2006
MUDAM, Luxembourg
2005
demand the best don’t accept excuses
Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Hamburg
Olympia 2050. Michel Majerus
Sprüth Magers Lee, London
progressive aesthetics
neugerriemschneider, Berlin
what looks good today may not look good tomorrow
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam;
kestnergesellschaft, Hanover
Michel Majerus. Installationen 92–02
Kunsthaus Graz Universalmuseum Joanneum
2003
Pop Reloaded
Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin (catalogue), travelled to:
Tate Liverpool
2002
Sozialpalast
Brandenburger Tor, Berlin
Leuchtland
Friedrich Petzel Gallery, New York
controlling the moonlight maze
neugerriemschneider, Berlin
2001
Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
2000
if we are dead, so it is
Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne
demand the best don‘t accept excuses
Monika Sprüth Galerie, Cologne
The space is, where you’ll find it
The Delfina Studio Trust, London
1999
Björn Dahlem – Michel Majerus
Schnitt Ausstellungsraum, Cologne
sein lieblingsthema war sicherheit, seine these – es gibt sie nicht
neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Thai-Ming
Asprey Jacques, London
Jenny Holzer – Michel Majerus
Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich
as soon as possible
Gió Marconi, Milan
Stefan Hirsig – Michel Majerus
Galeria Mário Sequeira, Braga
1998
never trip alone. always use 2 player mode
Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
1997
Space Safari
Anders Tornberg Gallery, Lund
Produce-Reduce-Reuse
Galerie Karlheinz Meyer, Karlsruhe
1996
Aesthetic Standard
Grazer Kunstverein
n.n.
Monika Sprüth Galerie, Cologne
fertiggestellt zur zufriedenheit aller die bedenken haben
neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Summerhits 96: Michel Majerus
The Museum of Modern Art Syros
Michel Majerus
Kunsthalle Basel (catalogue)
Aquarell
Hamburger Kunstverein, Hamburg
1994
gemälde
neugerriemschneider, Berlin
1993
polish women
allgirls gallery, Berlin
1992
Mr. Proper und anderes
Zellermayer Galerie, Berlin
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
Michel Majerus / Kurt Schwitters: miteinander gegenüber #6
Kunsthalle Bielefeld
24h (in collaboration with Super Super Markt)
Braunsfelder, Cologne
kosuth majerus sonderborg
Michel Majerus Estate, Berlin
Nothing is Permanent
Konscthal Esch, Esch-Sur-Alzette
2021
Now or Never – 50 Years LBBW Collection
Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (catalogue)
Lovely Creatures
Ludwig Forum, Aachen
2019
majerus wool warhol…“cold beer” the “smudge tool” and other short stories
Michel Majerus Estate, Berlin
2018
Paintings from the 1980s and 1990s. MUDAM Collection
MUDAM, Luxembourg
The World on Paper – Sammlung Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle - Museum Palais Populaire, Berlin
The Materiality of the painterly event
Parko Eleftherias, Athens Municipality Arts Center, Athens
German Art
Galleri K, Oslo
Faithless Pictures
National Museum, Oslo
Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Papier.Salon
Wentrup Gallery, Hamburg
2017
Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
Mental Yellow. High Noon. The KiCo Collection (group show)
Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn
Exhibition #3
Sammlung Boros, Berlin
2016
Images
Fridericianum, Kassel
2015
Painting 2.0: Expression in the Information Age
Museum Brandhorst, Munich
Accrochage 3: Pop & Music
Foundation Louis Vuitton, Paris
I Got to Have One of Those
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich
After an Early Death
Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden
Open Source: Art at the Eclipse of Capitalism
Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin
best students, best teachers, best school: Michel Majerus, Albert Oehlen, Laura Owens
Michel Majerus Estate, Berlin
2014
Gifts/New Acquisitions
Kunsthalle Bielefeld
Thomas Bayrle / Harald Pridgar: Indian Cucumbers Dedicated to Michel Majerus
Michel Majerus Estate, Berlin
69/96
Alte Fabrik, Rapperswil
Traces of Modernism
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
Art in Europe Since 1945: Beyond Boundaries
Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki
2013
Michel Majerus and Andreas Eriksson: Levitation
Michel Majerus Estate, Berlin
Expansion of the Combat Zone, 1968–2000. The Collection Part 3
Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin
Auf Zeit, Wandbilder – Bildwände
Kunsthalle Bielefeld
Das Glück kommt aus dem Nichts. Werke aus der Sammlung Wilhelm Otto Nachf
Kunsthalle Nürnberg
Gegenwartskunst der Sammlung und der Kico Stiftung
Lenbachhaus, Munich
Contemporary German Art: Selections from the permanent collection
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis
A more perfect day – Collection of Mudam Luxembourg
Artsonje Center, Seoul
Lies about Painting
Moderna Museet, Malmö
Thomas Bayrle: Dedicated to Michel Majerus
The Artist’s Institute, New York
2012
Keine Zeit – Erschöpftes Selbst / Entgrenztes Können
21er Haus, Vienna
Pink Kaviar – New Acquisitions 2009–2011
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humblebaek
2011
MMK 1991–2011, 20 Jahre Gegenwart
MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt
2010
Collision
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
If Not In This Period of Time. Contemporary German Painting: 1989–2010
Museu De Arte De São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo (catalogue)
2009
Slow Painting
Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen (catalogue)
The World is Yours – Contemporary Art
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humblebaek (catalogue)
Access All Areas – a drawing exhibition
Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin
Sammlung Reloaded
Kunstmuseum Bonn
Extended. Sammlung Landesbank Baden-Württemberg
ZKM / Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe
2008
Now’s the Time
Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane
BlueBalls, Art Production Fund LAB, New York
DRESSing the MESSAGE. Transformationen von Kunst und Mode
Sprengel Museum, Hanover (catalogue)
Painting; Now and Forever, Part II
Greene Naftali Gallery and Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
Pop! goes the weasel
Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe
2007
PX: Snow Falls in the Moutains without Wind
St Paul Street Gallery, Auckland
Von Bill Viola bis Aernout Mik. Werke aus der Sammlung der Nationalgalerie
Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin
Reality Bites: Making Avant-Garde Art in Post-Wall Germany
Opelvillen, Rüsselsheim (catalogue)
Comic Abstraction: Image-Breaking, Image-Making
The Museum of Modern Art, New York (catalogue)
Reality Bites: Making Avant-Garde Art in Post-Wall Germany
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis (catalogue)
2006
RADAR Selections from the Collection of Vicki & Kent Logan
Denver Art Museum, Denver (catalogue)
Open House – Casa Aberta
Centro de Arte Contemporânea Inhotim, Minas Gerais
Essential Painting
The National Museum of Art, Osaka (catalogue)
2005
36 x 27 x 10
White Cube Berlin
Golden Krust
Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, New York
10 foreign artists
Galleri K, Oslo
Atelier 5 – 9 Bauten 9 Künstler
Kunsthalle Bern
Generation X. Junge Kunst aus der Sammlung
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
Same Old Shoe
Gimpel Fils, London
La nouvelle peinture allemande
Carré d’Art, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Nîmes
EXIT. Ausstieg aus dem Bild
ZKM – Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe
Willem de Kooning
Kunstforum Wien
2004
BIACS – Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla
I Bienal de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla (catalogue)
Kunst – ein Kinderspiel
Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt
Heißkalt. Aktuelle Malerei aus der Sammlung Scharpff
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
was malerei heute ist
Opelvillen, Rüsselsheim
Treasure Island, 10 Jahre Sammlung Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
Werke aus der Sammlung Boros
ZKM – Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe (catalogue)
no more reality
Nils Staerk Contemporary Art, Copenhagen
2003
SUPERNOVA: Art of the 1990s from the Logan Collection
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (catalogue)
Heißkalt. Aktuelle Malerei aus der Sammlung Scharpff
Hamburger Kunsthalle (catalogue)
Sitings: Installation Art 1969–2002
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
some things we like...
Asprey Jacques Gallery, London
actionbutton. Neuerwerbungen zur Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 2000–2002
Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin
20th anniversary show
Monika Sprüth – Philomene Magers, Cologne
PERFECT TIMELESS REPETITION
c/o Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin
2002
Reality Check: painting in the Exploded Field, Works from the Vicki and Kent Logan Collection
CCAC Institute, Oliver Center, Oakland
The Starting Line
Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
Hossa. Arte Alemán del 2000
Centro Cultural Andratx, Mallorca
Kunst nach Kunst
Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen (catalogue)
Lila, weiß und andere Farben. A Summer Group Show
Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin
Painting on the Move
Kunsthalle und Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel (catalogue)
Flamm – Heinzmann – Majerus – Majewski – Nader
Asprey Jacques Gallery, London
Exposition collective
Palais de Tokyo, Paris
2001
Wiedervorlage D5 – Eine Befragung des Documenta-Archivs zur Documenta 1972
Documenta-Archiv, Kassel (catalogue)
Casino 2001
Museum of Contemporary Art (S.M.A.K.), Ghent
gravures de peintres
Niels Borch Jensen Verlag und Druck, Berlin
Poetry in Motion
MindBar, Lund
Update #3. What looks good today...
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
Viel Spaß
Espace Paul Ricard, Paris
M Art In(n)
n.n., Helsingborg
Oh Pardon, sind sie der Graf von Luxemburg?
Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
Freestyle. Werke aus der Sammlung Boros
Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen
2000
Pflummi
Brix-Kunstraum, Berlin
Salon
Delfina Project Space, London
Malkunst – Aktuelle Malerei in Berlin
Fondazione Mudima, Milan
The Sky is the Limit
Taipei Biennale, Taipei
CN Négociations
Centre Régional d ́Art Contemporain Languedoc-Roussillon, Sète (catalogue)
at your service
Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna
mission impossible
Charim Klocker, Vienna
Colour Me Blind! Painting in the age of computer games and comics
Dundee Contemporary Arts
hausschau – das haus in der kunst
Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
at your service
Gasser & Grunert, New York
Colour Me Blind! Painting in the age of computer games and comics
Städtische Ausstellungshalle am Hawerkamp, Munich
1999
Colour Me Blind! Malerei in Zeiten von Computergame und Comic
Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart (catalogue)
German Open. Gegenwartskunst in Deutschland
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (catalogue)
Die Schule von Athen
Municipality of Athens - Technopolis, Athens
kraftwerk BERLIN
Aarhus Kunstmuseum (catalogue)
Originale echt/falsch
Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen (catalogue)
Le Capital: tableaux, diagrammes, bureaux d’études
Centre Régional d ́Art Contemporain Languedoc-Roussillon, Sète (catalogue)
d’APERTutto
48th Venice Biennale (catalogue)
objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are
Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin
Nach-Bild
Kunsthalle Basel (catalogue)
zoom. Ansichten zur deutschen Gegenwartskunst
Sammlung Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart
Lè Grand Præmière Opénïng Shöw
Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
de coraz(i)ón
Tecla Scala, Barcelona (catalogue)
expanded design
Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg
Made in Berlin
House of Cyprus, Athens
1998
Made in Berlin
Rethymnon Centre for Contemporary Art, Rethymno (catalogue)
10 Jahre Open Art München
n.n., Munich (catalogue)
Manifesta 2
European Biennial for Contemporary Art, Luxembourg (catalogue)
Malerei
Galerie Karlheinz Meyer, Karlsruhe
Das Jahrhundert der künstlerischen Freiheit. 100 Jahre Wiener Secession
Secession, Vienna (catalogue)
Tell Me a Story: Narration in Contemporary Painting and Photography
Magasin, Centre National d‘Art Contemporain de Grenoble (catalogue)
1997
Topping Out
Städtische Galerie Nordhorn (catalogue)
Franz Ackermann: 5%, Michel Majerus: Qualified, Tobias Rehberger: Water-colour
Giò Marconi, Milan
Faustrecht der Freiheit
Sammlung Volkmann, Gera
Fiat
Künstlerhaus Stuttgart
1996
Alle Neune
ACC Galerie, Weimar
Wunderbar
Hamburger Kunstverein
something changed
Helga Maria Klosterfelde, Hamburg
Malerei III
Monika Sprüth Galerie, Cologne
Wunderbar
Kunstraum Wien
1992
3K-NH
Ausstellungsraum von J. Kosuth, Stuttgart
Under Thirty
Galerie Metropol, Vienna
1991
Ausstellungsreihe zwei
Kunstinstitut Stuttgart
1990
und wieder kommt kein Schwein
Klinik, Stuttgart
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Monographs
Michel Majerus Estate: Indian Cucumbers. Dedicated to Michel Majerus, Berlin, 2014
Matthew Marks Gallery: Michel Majerus, New York, 2014
Editions Saint Paul (Ed.): Progressive Aesthetics, Luxembourg, 2013
CAPC Bordeaux (Ed.): Michel Majerus, Bordeaux, 2012
Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (Ed.): Michel Majerus, Berlin, 2012
Udo Kittelmann (Ed.): Michel Majerus: If we are dead, so it is. Zurich, 2007
Ralf Christofori, Michel Majerus, Peter Pakesch Raimar Stange: Michel Majerus: Installationen 92–02, Cologne, 2005
Michel Majerus, Peter Pakesch (Eds.): What Looks Good Today May Not Look Good Tomorrow, Cologne, 2005
Joachim Jäger (Ed.): Michel Majerus: Los Angeles, Cologne, 2004
Schwabe (Ed.): Michel Majerus, Basel, 1996
Others
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus / Kunstbau München (Eds.): An der Isar. Gegenwartskunst im neuen Lenbachhaus, Munich, 2013
Johan Holten, Friedrich Meschede (Eds.) Auf Zeit, Cologne, 2013
Veit Loers (Ed.): Das Glück kommt aus dem Nichts, Nuremberg, 2013
Phaidon (Ed.): Defining Contemporary Art: 25 Years in 200 Pivotal Artworks, London, 2011
Tereza de Arruda, Teixeira Coelho Netto, Harald Falckenberg (Eds.): Se Não Neste Tempo: Pintura Alemã Contemporânea 1989–2010, São Paulo, 2010
Markus Heinzelmann (Ed.): Slow Paintings, Nuremberg, 2009
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art: The World Is Yours, Humlebaek, 2009
Lutz Casper, Gregor Jansen (Eds.): Extended, Heidelberg / Berlin, 2009
Saarlandmuseum (Ed.): Michel Majerus, Saarbrücken, 2009
Elfriede Schalit, Kevin Hart (Eds.): Slow Motion oder: das Halbe und das Ganze, Bern, 2009
Sprengel Museum: Dressing the Message: Transformationen von Kunst und Mode, Hanover, 2008
DuMont Buchverlag: Stations: 100 Meisterwerke Zeitgenössischer Kunst, Cologne, 2008
The Museum of Modern Art: Comic Abstraction. Image Breaking, Image Making, New York, 2007
Hatje Cantz: Reality Bites. Making Avant-Garde Art in Post-Wall Germany, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2007
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin: Zehn Jahre Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für
Gegenwart, 1996–2006, Berlin, 2006
National Museum of Art, Osaka (Ed.): Essential Painting, Osaka, 2006
Denver Art Museum: Radar: Selections from the Collection of Vicki and Kent Logan, Denver, 2006
Frauke Boggasch, Dominik Sittig (Eds.): Elend. Zur Frage der Relevanz von Pop in Kunst, Leben und öffentlichen Badeanstalten, Nuremberg, 2006
DuMont Buchverlag (Ed.): Die Kunst im Bundeskanzleramt: Malerei, Skulptur, Fotografie, Cologne, 2005
Götz Adriani, Silke Immenga (Eds.): Werke aus der Sammlung Boros, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2004
Taschen Verlag (Ed.): Berlin Style, Cologne, 2004
Ingrid Ehrhardt, Beate Kemfert (Eds.): Was Malerei Heute Ist, Rüsselsheim, 2004
Madeleine Grynsztejn (Ed.): Supernova, San Francisco, 2003
Michael Borlik (Ed.): Heisskalt, Stuttgart, 2003
Phaidon (Ed.): Vitamin P. New Perspectives in Painting, London, 2002
Zdenek Felix, Harald Falckenberg, Bazon Brock (Eds.): Pump Haus: Sammlung Falckenberg, Berlin, 2002
Taschen Verlag: Art Now: 137 Artists at the Rise of the New Millennium, Cologne, 2002
Gerhard Finckh, Susanne Küper (Eds.): Freestyle: Werke aus der Sammlung Boros, Cologne, 2002
Neues Museum Weserburg (Ed.): Kunst Nach Kunst, Bremen, 2002
Bürgi B. Mendes, Peter Pakesch (Eds.): Painting on the Move, Basel, 2002
Roland Nachtigäller, Friedhelm Scharf, Karin Stengel (Eds.): Wiedervorlage D5: Eine Befragung Des Archivs Zur Documenta 1972, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2001
Gerard Hadders, Christoph Heinrich, Nina Zimmer (Eds.): German Open. Gegenwartskunst in Deutschland, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2000
Taipei Fine Arts Museum (Ed.): The Sky Is the Limit. 2000 Taipei Biennial, Taipei, 2000
Taschen Verlag (Ed.): Art at the Turn of the Millennium, Cologne, 1999
Ralf Christofori (Ed.): Colour Me Blind! Malerei in Zeiten von Computergame und Comic, Cologne, 1999
Centre Culturel Tecla Sala (Ed.): De Coraz(i)ón, Barcelona, 1999
Neues Museum Weserburg (Ed.): Originale Echt Falsch, Bremen, 1999
Anders Kold (Ed.): Kraftwerk Berlin, Aarhus, 1999
Kunsthalle Basel (Ed.): Nach-Bild, Basel, 1999
Jaroslava Bubnová (Ed.): Wiener Secession, 1898–1998: Das Jahrhundert der künstlerischen Freiheit. Munich, 1998
Robert Fleck, Maria Lind, Barbara Vanderlinden (Eds.): Manifesta 2. European Biennial for Contemporary Art, Luxembourg, 1998
House of Cyprus and Rethymnon Centre for Contemporary Art: Made in Berlin. Eine neue Künstlergeneration, Athens, 1998
Centre National d’Art Contemporain: Raconte-moi une histoire: La narration dans la peinture et la photographie contemporaines, Grenoble, 1997
Städtische Galerie Nordhorn (Ed.): Topping Out, Nordhorn, 1997
Videos
Selected Press
Mousse Magazine Summer 2017