Twenty years after the death of Michel Majerus (1967-2002), the Germany-wide exhibition series Michel Majerus 2022 is dedicated to various phases and aspects of his extraordinary oeuvre, which continues to influence artists of younger generations.
Image above: Michel Majerus, michel majerus, 2000, 1-channel video installation (colour, sound), 30’49” loop, 25 CRT monitors / installation view, WHAT’S MY NAME?, Michel Majerus Estate, Berlin, (29.04.2016–05.03.2017), © Michel Majerus Estate, 2022. Courtesy neugerriemschneider, Berlin and Matthew Marks Gallery, Photo: Jens Ziehe, Berlin
In five solo exhibitions at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.), the Kunstverein in Hamburg, the Michel Majerus Estate and at neugerriemschneider in Berlin, Michel Majerus’ oeuvre will be appreciated in its complexity and on an unprecedented scale. Loans from the artist’s estate as well as from public and private collections provide new insights into the early work and the medial and thematic issues of Michel Majerus’ oeuvre.
© Michel Majerus Estate, 2022. Courtesy Private Collection, Photo: Jens Ziehe, Berlin
Parallel to these exhibitions in Berlin and Hamburg, thirteen museums throughout Germany are showing works by Michel Majerus from their collections.
A comprehensive publication will be published to accompany this unique exhibition series.
Exhibitions
Michel Majerus Estate
kosuth majerus sonderborg – an installation by Joseph Kosuth, curated by Peter Pakesch
28. April 2022 to 18. March 2023
Reception: 30. April 2022
The exhibition kosuth majerus sonderborg – an installation by Joseph Kosuth is the prelude to the exhibition series Michel Majerus 2022 and shows for the first time works by Michel Majerus together with works by his two professors Joseph Kosuth and K.R.H. Sonderborg. The exhibition, curated by Peter Pakesch, will take place in the artist’s former studio, now the Michel Majerus Estate.
KW Institute for Contemporary Art
Michel Majerus – Early Works, curated by Krist Gruijthuijsen
22. October 2022 to 15. January 2023
Opening: 21. October 2022
The exhibition Michel Majerus – Early Works attempts to uncover the very first layers of Michel Majerus’s artistic work by showing early works by the artist created between 1988 and 1995. Many of the early works on display are being shown to the public for the first time.
Overall dimensions: 300 x 300 cm, silkscreen on canvas: 142 x 122 cm, © Michel Majerus Estate, 2022.
Courtesy neugerriemschneider, Berlin and Matthew Marks Gallery, Photo: Jens Ziehe, Berlin
neugerriemschneider
Michel Majerus – gemälde, 1994
8. November 2022 to 14. January 2023
Opening: 6. November 2022
On the 20th anniversary of Michel Majerus’ death, 6 November 2022, neugerriemschneider opens the exhibition Michel Majerus – paintings, 1994. paintings was shown in 1994 as the gallery’s first collaboration with Michel Majerus. For the exhibition series Michel Majerus 2022, this presentation will be reconstructed at neugerriemschneider.
Kunstverein in Hamburg
Michel Majerus – Data Streaming, curated by Bettina Steinbrügge and Milan Ther
12. November 2022 to 29. January 2023
Opening: 11. November 2022
In its exhibition Michel Majerus – Data Streaming, the Kunstverein in Hamburg explores the digital aspects of Majerus’ work and addresses the relationship to contemporary issues in art.
© Michel Majerus Estate, 2022. Courtesy neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.)
Michel Majerus, curated by Michaela Richter
17. December 2022 to 5. February 2023
Opening: 16. December 2022
The exhibition Michel Majerus at the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein highlights Majerus’ installation work as a central means of expression in his practice. An expansive video installation, exemplary wall works and spatial designs as well as sculptural models presented for the first time, which Majerus conceived for his site-specific large-scale projects, demonstrate the intermedial specificity of Michel Majerus’ artistic work, his practice of sampling and his media-reflexive approaches – as well as his method of creating spaces for differentiated aesthetic experiences.
Collection presentations
Kunsthalle Bielefeld
Kunsthalle Mannheim
Kunstmuseum Bonn
Kunstmuseum Stuttgart
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
Ludwig Forum Aachen
Museum Folkwang, Essen
Museum Ludwig, Köln
Neues Museum Nürnberg
Saarlandmuseum – Moderne Galerie
Sprengel Museum Hannover
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, München
Courtesy neugerriemschneider, Berlin and Matthew Marks Gallery, Photo: Jens Ziehe, Berlin
Publication
The exhibition series Michel Majerus 2022 is accompanied by a comprehensive publication, published by the Michel Majerus Estate in cooperation with KW Institute for Contemporary Art, the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k) and Kunstverein in Hamburg. In addition to an essay by Diedrich Diedrichsen, an essay on Michel Majerus’ early work by Brigitte Franzen and an essay on the conceptual focus of his work by Karen Archey, the publication includes two shorter contributions from an artist’s perspective by Cory Arcangel and Rirkrit Tiravanija. It also contains a pictorial documentation of the exhibitions and collection presentations as well as a list of all works exhibited. It also contains an exhibition history and vita enriched with photographic archive material, as well as a bibliography of the most important publications on Michel Majerus to date.
KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Kunstverein in Hamburg, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Michel Majerus Estate (Hrsg.)
Michel Majerus 2022
Deutsch/Englisch
Hardcover, ca. 24 × 31 cm
Approx. 256 pages, approx. 170 colour illustrations
DCV, Dr. Cantz’sche Verlagsgesellschaft
Design: Book Book, Berlin
Publication period: Spring 2023
