Internationally acclaimed painter and Fort Myers son Marcus Jansen, has announced the opening of a new art space, ’UNIT A Contemporary Art,’ the largest contemporary art space of it’s kind in Southwest Florida.
“UNIT A” in downtown Fort Myers, will be part of the downtown art scene with over 7000 sq. ft. of loft space located on Evans Ave., only three blocks from first street, right off Thompson and parallel to the Tax Collector’s Building (www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVk6lHt4cAE). The New York style urban loft space Unit, will house selected works from the Jansen collection on a permanent basis and serve as a hub for information regarding the artist and his career. It will also serve as a space that can be leased for functions and meetings during the month.
Marcus Jansen has been noted in the media alongside famous artists like Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and many other famous painters. All with works in major Museum collections around the world, and have produced exclusive works for companies like Warner Brothers and most recently Absolut Vodka. Art Historian and former Museum Director Jerome A. Donson called Jansen “the Innovator of Modern Expressionism”, in his first book written in 2005. Now Jansen while showing largely in big cities like New York, London, Paris, Berlin, and others, wants to contribute to his community by opening UNIT A. “Fort Myers has been essential to my career for close to eight years. People have been asking me when are we doing something more local. I thought this would be a great way to share the fun and create an important dialogue at the same time,” Jansen said.
In light of the upcoming opening, the Unit is releasing exclusive rare limited edition signed and numbered prints of the original ABSOLUT BLANK bottle that will be running in the campaign for the next year as well as Jansen’s award winning piece, “Creeping obstacles in Kansas’, that surfaced on the cover of New American Paintings, making Jansen the first Florida painter ever to make the cover according to Art dealer and writer Glenn Lori from Boca Raton. Both prints will be exclusively available at UNIT A.
Universities and Institutions are encouraged to schedule tours starting March 2012. The all brick warehouse building will serve to preserve Jansen original works, while showing a permanent collection of Jansen’s privately owned paintings and installations, as well as prints, and other merchandise by Jansen for sale. The Unit, will largely serve for educational purposes and also host screenings of art documentaries, lectures and be available for business and corporate meetings. Jansen is Founder of his own company Expressive Culture LLC and it’s d/b/a UNIT A Contemporary Art.
