Marcus Jansen was born in Manhattan, New York City in 1968
Considered by Art Historians as a leader in modern expressionism, from a child on Jansen painted on surfaces such as canvas, newspapers and anything else he could find. He attended the Berufsfaschule fuer Gestaltung/Design in 1985 in Mönchengladbach, Germany and traveled widely throughout Western Europe at an early age.
In 1990 he joined the US Army being deployed with the 18th Airborne Corps to Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain during Desert Storm. After moving to Germany as a child, he traveled back to New York in 1982 where he was introduced to legendary Graffiti writers where he learned fast and combined influences from cubism, abstract expressionism and graffiti art to create a vibrant, iconic style that The New York Times describes: "surrealistic asphalt jungles." In 2006, Jansen was written about in Jansen's first book by noted Art Historian Jerome A. Donson who authored and curated exhibitions with many famous action painters like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns and Franz Kline, referring to Jansen as the "innovator of Modern Expressionism"
In 2011, Jansen was selected by Absolut Vodka for "Absolut Blank", alongside Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and Keith Haring who were also previously selected for Absolut Vodka's campaigns in the past. Jansen's expressionistic sensibility has since leant itself to many collaborations with such brands as Warner Brothers, Ford Motor Company and FIFA World Cup™.
2011 Cinemateca Brasileira, Absolut Blank, São Paulo Brazil
2011 Naples Museum of Art, Florida Contemporaries, Naples, FL
2011 Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, A Painters Allegory, Fort Myers FL
2010 New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut, permanent collection.
2010 Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas, permanent collection.
2010 101 Exhibit, Marcus Antonius Jansen - Zeitgeist, Miami, FL.
2010 Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Metro Montage X, Atlanta.
2010 Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum Berlin, FIFA World Cup Fine Art exhibition.
2010 Gwen Cole Art Center, Texas National 2010, Stephen F. Austin State University.
2010 Kim Foster Gallery, New York
2009 International Convention Centre,Cape Town, FIFA World Cup Fine Art exhibition.
2009 Bill Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2009 Museum Works Galleries, Marcus Jansen, Aspen CO.
2009 FDIM Museum, Warner Brother Anniversary exhibition, Los Angeles California.
2008 Museum Works Galleries, Marcus Jansen, Aspen CO.
2008 Art Center New Jersey, New Jersey.
2008 Stolen Space Gallery, Marcus Antonius Jansen – Urban, Expressionism, London
2007 Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA),Moscow Russia, permanent collection.
2007 National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, Biennial, permanent collection.
2007 Manege, Central Exhibition Hall, Russia, 8th. International Biennial of Contemporary Art.
2007 Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Biennial R.O.C Taiwan.
2006 Tampa Museum of Art, Annual, under/current/over/view 8, Tampa Florida.
2006 Lawrence Asher Gallery, Marcus Antonius Jansen, Los Angeles California.
2005 Museum of African Art, New York.
2004 Sidney & Berne Art Center, Fort Myers, FL
2003 Charles H. Wright Museum of African American Art, Ford Motor Company Paintings.
2003 American Art Gallery, Paris France
2003 Tuskeegee University, permanent collection.
1999 Madison Square Garden,“International Independent Film and Video Festival.” NY.
1998 Galerie de Bernardi, Aachen Germany
Covers
New American Paintings No 94. edition publication
Collections
New Britain Museum of American Art
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Moscow Museum of Modern Art
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art
Smithsonian Institution
Absolut Vodka Museum, Sweden
Press
Examiner - Why Absolut Vodka chose Marcus Jansen
Art Pulse - Marcus Antonius Jansen: Zeitgeist