Luxembourg-born painter Michel Majerus died in a plane crash in 2002, at just 35 years old, but his influence continues to resonate through the practices of artists who acknowledge the critical role that digital technology plays in our lives. Majerus was among the first painters to make extensive use of Adobe Photoshop in preparing his work, using the program to layer and combine iconography sampled from video games and commercial graphic design in a way that has since become de rigueur. He borrowed from art history, too, dropping references to a range of abstract subgenres—as well as to Pop Art master Andy Warhol.
This show of compositions on aluminum sheets features a striking series of five panels from 1996. Monochromatically lathered in a distinct acid-colored enamel, each is silk-screened with the identical image of the plucky Italian plumber Mario, protagonist of the seminal Donkey Kong game and its numerous spin-offs. Other works in the show feature Buzz Lightyear and Woody from the Toy Story movies, as well as abstract and typographic elements.
The visual impact of Majerus’s works against the white interior of the gallery is undeniably vibrant, and like Warhol’s painting–screen-print hybrids before them, they seem to flit restlessly from one aesthetic realm to another. They make the act of looking as fun as playing a Game Boy.