Marcus Antonius Jansen
Painter

Marcus Antonius Jansen delivers an unusual mix of European Expressionism and American Urban elements. Marcus is a native of New York City and is a converted Gulf War Veteran who was educated in Europe and the United States while studying painting and design in Germany. As a result, he is also fluent in the German language. Jansen managed to transform his life in 1997 after his eight year Military service as a Sergeant in the US Military to an internationally acclaimed painter. Jansen has had international exhibitions - with his first exhibition taking place in New York City's prestigious Park Avenue Lever House at 6 years old while attending PS 156 in Queens NY.

He was the Ford Motor Company commissioned artist gaining attention through local and national media as he painted four historic works of art that were presented at the Charles H. Wright Museum in Detroit in 2003. His first introduction to SW Florida was at Arts for Act Gallery "City Blues" solo show and the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery "Act Preview" group show.

Now a midcareer artist, Jansen has become a leader in a new modern Urban Contemporary movement that that has been quickly changing the face of visual media in the 21st Century. He brings young and old, urban and mainstream onto one platform with his unmistakable gritty urban images.

In less then three years, Jansen has become a significant contributor to the contemporary artscene. While residing in Fort Myers, he has appeared on virtually every major media magazine and newspaper in the region including making the covers of: Fort Myers Magazine, Expressions Magazine WGCU Arts Edition, The News-Press, News Star,Tampa Tribune and Rivers Weekly Captiva Island.

Jansen left his mark winning "Best of artists and artisians" competition for the State of Florida with Kennedy Promotion Books and recently was included in the Tampa Museum Biennial Florida's statewide competition "under/current/over/view 8" at the Tampa Museum of Art. Jansen was featured at the prestigious Art Basel Miami and Art Cologne Germany in a multivideo project with New York Arts in 2005. His work can be found in the collections of the Tampa Museum of Art and Southwest Florida Museum of History - who commissioned Jansen for 11 works and featured his unique modern urban expressionism in a solo show called "Fort Myers an Urban Perspective" in 2005.

Supported by Bruce George (Co-Founder of def Poetry Jam in New York City), Jansen's work is requested by agencies and prestigious Colleges in the US for research, such as the California School of the Arts in San Francisco and hangs in permanent collections such as "Tuskegee University" Alabama and the "Oasis Towers" in Fort Myers owned by renowed art collector Jorge Perez.

Jansens noteriety does not stop within US boarders. He is a Winner of the Primio "ALBA 2007 Award" in Ferrera Italy, an inclusion in the 14th edition of Flavio Puviani-International Encyclopedia Dictionary of Modern & Contemporary Art among many renowned art names. Jansen made his permanent mark in Europe in 2005 with the exclusive Jansen Gallery that opened in March, in the prestigious Le Marais art district of Paris the American Art Gallery ran by Gallerist and ex TV Producer Jean Marc Pontet who is the artist's soley committed Gallery and has permanent ongoing exhibitions and recently held a solo show called Voice of a Generation, that gained media attention from French CNN LCI TV that broadcasted a two minute interview with the artist on French Television as well as various other media outlets throughout France. Referred by the media in Paris as the American "Pope" of Urban Expressionism, Jansen is also a finalist at the International Biennial Print & Drawing Exhibition and in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Fine Art Taiwan since 2006.

He is included in the recently published Book "Famous 100 Contemporary Artists" published by World of Art Books London UK that includes reviews by Pierre Restany and other internationally renowned art critics. His work is represented by Lawrence Asher Gallery Los Angeles and American Art Gallery Paris France.

His first solo book is to be released end of 2006 and holds an introduction by renowned digital artist and Andy Warhol's digital instructer, Laurence Gartel, and essay by Fort Myers Author and resident, Dr. Gerri Reaves.

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