The “canvas” in the headline above is actually eight, large square-shaped canvas panels placed together to form a masterwork by artist Michel Majerus. The artwork is titled “MoM-Block II” and is on view at MOCA Los Angeles.
The painting reference 1980s video game and pop culture with a black-and-white rendering of Super Mario and children’s animated TV and sci-fi film series “Transformers.” In the corner is part the number “8” (or is it a letter “B”) retro-tech font, an allusion to “8-byte” era of early video games, perhaps?
The remainder of the is abstract shapes and color, some of these look like details from actual Frank Stella paintings. But step away from the details and the overall image suggest a trompe l’oeil vision of an art museum gallery’s white walls. Wood grain flooring peaks out from the bottom of the frame. We’re thoroughly intrigued by this painting — mesmerize by it even. We’re going to head back to MOCA soon to spend some more time with it and decode its visual language.
GLOBAL GRAPHICA 