From Washing Machine to Moonlight Maze – Michel Majerus’ Engagement with Space. Conversation with Stephanie Seidel, Michaela Richter, Daniel Birnbaum and Cory Arcangel, moderated by Ruth Kißling

How does a washing machine end up on the street and a skate ramp in the exhibition space? What do billboards have to do with painting? How did Michel Majerus engage with space in his artistic practice? On the occasion of Berlin Art Week and the release of three new publications on Michel Majerus, the Michel Majerus Estate is organizing a conversation about Majerus’ exploration and understanding of space, with Stephanie Seidel (Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami), Michaela Richter (Neuer Berliner Kunstverein), Daniel Birnbaum (Acute Art, London) and the artist Cory Arcangel, moderated by Ruth Kißling (Michel Majerus Estate).

Engagement with spaces is one of the characteristic features of Majerus' artistic practice. He explores the complex factual, theoretical, and symbolic attributions and functions, particularly of art spaces, and examines where and how art can take place and be received. His approach to space is multifaceted: from the expansion of painting into the architectural realm to works in public spaces. In his installations and exhibitions designed as site-specific overall concepts, the experiences of his contemporary time are condensed. His motifs reference various cultural spheres, which he brings into a non-hierarchical, dynamic dialog spanning art history and pop culture, the internet and gaming world, as well as advertising in print, TV, and urban space.

The talk accompanies the presentation of three new publications on Michel Majerus: 
what looks good today may not look good tomorrow: The Legacy of Michel Majerus
Edited by Bettina Steinbrügge, Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (February 2024)

Michel Majerus 2022

Edited by Michel Majerus Estate, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Kunstverein in Hamburg (April 2024)

Michel Majerus: Progressive Aesthetics
Edited by Alex Gartenfeld and Stephanie Seidel, Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami  (Autumn 2024)

michelmajerus.com