About the Work
Luxembourg painter Michel Majerus, who died in 2002 at the age of only thirty-five, was one of the most important protagonists of the generation of artists that grew up in Berlin after the fall of the Wall in 1989. He always resisted any clear categorisation and his work, as presented by the Städel Museum, represents a significant position within the extended field of painting.
Majerus' painting 'MoM Block No. 27', created in 1998, forms part of his 'MoM Block' series, comprising more than 170 canvases, which the artist began in 1996 and continued until his sudden death. MoM is an abbreviation of Modehaus Mitte, a former fashion factory in East Berlin, in which Majerus had his studio for a while.
'MoM Block No. 27' thus not only represents a central work in his oeuvre, but it also creates a rewarding link to some of the works in the existing collection. Majerus' working method is a masterful combination of the gestural and expressive, spontaneous brushstrokes of Art Informel and the cheerful colours of Pop Art and advertising, while not shying away from an unpainted canvas or leaving it free in places. His paintings recall, on the one hand, the dynamic works of artists like K. O. Götz and Fritz Winter, and on the other, the mysterious signs and escapist landscapes of Willi Baumeister.
